Of Alchemists and Shinobi
by baldragnarok16
Summary: FMAxNaruto cross. To serve and protect...but whom? That is the question as Edward Elric is thrust into another world, where the death of one person means saving the life of another. A world where alchemy is nonexistant...or is it?
1. Out of the Frying Pan into the FIre

Hey people. I hope you enjoy this fanficiton. I really do try to create a meaningful story. Please review; it helps my self esteem and the updating time. Also, the reviewers to this chapter get cupcakes! Pairings or not I am undecided on.

**Chapter One: Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire**

Edward stared blankly at the immense and ornate gate doors. He knew what had to be done to save the one person who ever mattered so much to him; the one person he'd give his life and afterlife to save.

"Open, you know what I want and what I am willing to sacrifice for it," commanded Ed in a resonating voice.

The golden doors opened slowly, revealing the dark amorphous masses within, reaching out with long disfigured limbs, groping for the touch of a mortal's flesh. Edward willingly walked into their grasp, waiting for his mind, body, and soul to be either separated, destroyed, or sent to the "other side." While he was in the gate though, he felt a presence near him. He tried seeing what it was, but he could see nothing but the demons attempting to devour him.

"Edward Elric, I'm afraid that I'm going to intervene at this point. For you see, I need you to complete a mission for me, and if you do not, well, Alphonse will be the one to pay for your mistake," whispered a voice. It contained every emotion Ed had ever experienced before in his life: fear, love, hope, sadness, glee, surprise, hatred, jealousy, sympathy, empathy, it was enough to make a person become insane.

"I guess I have no choice then do I?" reluctantly responded Ed.

"I'm glad we agree," whispered the voice, except now it was filled with malice and greed and sounded more similar to a hiss.

"Make sure that this person does not live beyond the age of fifteen; you have eight years to complete it, and make sure you do," threatened the hissing voice. Ed felt as if though something was trying to be shoved into his head through his eye sockets and screamed out in pain. It felt like no pain he'd ever felt before; is hurt more than being killed by Envy and lasted longer than the pain of getting two auto-mail limbs. When the pain finally subsided and the image he saw was of a young man of around seventeen.

"This person looks seventeen though!" retorted Ed.

"In that picture he is," calmly answered the voice. "You'll have to figure out who it is by yourself, and just in case you do decide to betray me, I'll take a little something as a down payment." Ed then felt as if someone was trying to open his head with a screwdriver and then pull out his brain. His eyes then closed as the pain overwhelmed him.

He awoke on a dirt road surrounded by shrubs and trees at what seemed to be either dawn or twilight.

"Where am I?" he muttered, rubbing his throbbing head. The last thing he could remember was returning to Resembool after creating the Philospher's Stone. "Al? Al where are you?" shouted Ed. After having no response he started running down the dirt road looking for his brother. After around five minutes of running he found a gate with two men around the age of twenty two guarding them. For some reason, they looked abnormally tall to Ed.

"Little boy, why are you out here at such a late time?" asked one of the guards. Ed got incredibly pissed with a stress mark on his forehead.

"I'm not a little kid!" screamed Ed. But to his surprise his voice came out in a much higher tone than usual, like a seven year old's and he immediately covered his mouth with his left arm.

"Yeah, and I'm an old geezer," sarcastically retorted the guard. "Now do you want to enter or not?"

"Yeah yeah," muttered Ed.

"What did you say shrimp?" asked the other guard.

"Do not call me shrimp!" screamed the alchemist. He tried punching the giant guard in the face with his right arm, but it was caught and the guard slowly twisted it, hard, causing Ed to be in immense pain.

_'Wait, why does this hurt?' _questioned Ed. For the first time he glanced at his arm and noticed that it was flesh, bone, muscle, and blood, not automail. He then felt his body shatter as he collided with a tree fifty yards from where he was standing previously.

"That'll teach him for attacking a jounin," scoffed the guard.

'_Jounin, what the heck is that?' _wondered Ed, and this was the last thought he had before blacking out.

Ed's eyes fluttered open as he felt something jab into his spine. He screamed in pain as his assaulter tried to shush him.

"It'll be alright, just calm down," soothed the woman who was standing over him. She was wearing a white dress and had long black hair. He soon felt the pain ebb away as the woman retracted what seemed like a sword made purely of energy. "That was just to realign your spinal cord; you received a nasty blow from being thrown into that tree. You're lucky that boy found you or you would've been in much more agony once you would have woken up." She pointed to a young boy sitting on a chair swinging his legs back and forth.

"Hey what's your name?" asked the young boy, grinning.

"It's not exactly polite to ask the name of the person you're introducing yourself to without giving your name first!" snapped Ed.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, believe it!" shouted the boy.

"Uzumaki, quiet! This is an operating room!" snapped the doctor.

"I'm Edward Elric, nice to meet you," sarcastically greeted Ed.

"Wow, you have a weird first name, Elric," snickered Naruto.

"My name's not Elric Uzumaki. It's Ed," growled the boy.

"That's even stranger," remarked Naruto, a fox grin on his face.

_'The more I talk to him, the more annoying he gets and the less I like him,'_ reflected the boy, before passing into a peaceful slumber, only half-hearing the nurse's explanation of sedation.

* * *

I awoke to find Winry, Rose, and Pinako were standing above me. I felt different, lighter some how, like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It seemed as if Rose was bursting to ask something. The same went for Winry. I was about to ask them what was wrong with them when they both cracked;

"Al, you're awake! Where's…" started Winry.

"Ed," finished Rose. Both girls had a very shaky tone to their voices, like they were upset about something.

"Ed? Who's Ed?" I asked.

* * *

Please R&R. I can handle flames 'cause _I'm a big boy now!_


	2. Naruto's Proposition

Paul Cousins: That will be a very interesting matter indeed…

BlackFeatherz29: I did mention who "I" is, it's a very brief mention, but yes, I do say who it is. And nice maniacal laughter.

And here's a cupcake to you guys. Anyone who reviews to this chapter gets pockey!

Disclaimer: I don't own either FMA or Naruto, if I did, well, no one would watch or read it, they would act it.

Also, I will try to update **at least** once a week, if I don't I'll make sure to make a long chapter to make up for it.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

_Dreaming

* * *

_

**Chapter 2: Naruto's Proposition**

_There he was, standing in the hallway, his trench coat covering everything except his face. He wore glasses and had long braided hair like Ed, but he was taller and his face was weathered, and he was there, with Ed and Al, his children, for the first time in over ten years he had seen his children, one hating him and the other adoring him. The two argued up a storm before finally Al stormed off to be with his father, the only one with human flesh and bone and was alive in his family other than Ed. The next morning he was in the place where he had been for all of those years; gone without a trace._

Ed woke up panting and sweating, as if it was causing him pain to dream his father had come home, and then left them again. It was pitch dark out, with no moon or stars. This night was the same kind of night when he met Avlin back in Mezzeret.

_'Yes, that was a good time for us,' _thought Ed. _'That is until…'_ Ed just sighed at the memory and remembered a song that the troubadour had taught him and his brother all those years ago. He started to mutter the words to that painful song.

"After school

Walking home  
Fresh dirt under my fingernails  
And I can smell hot asphalt  
Cars screech to a halt to let me pass  
And I cannot remember  
What life was like through photographs  
Trying to recreate images life gives us from our past"

'_It's harder when you have no photographs and only your memories"_

"And sometimes it's a sad song"

At this point silent tears rolled down Ed's face as he started to sing louder.

"But I cannot forget  
Refuse to regret  
So glad I met you  
Take my breath away  
Make everyday  
Worth all of the pain that I have  
Gone through  
And mama I've been cryin'  
Cause things ain't how they used to be  
She said the battles almost won  
And we're only several miles from the sun"

'_Avlin, you have no idea how much you assisted us, even for such a short amount of time. You helped us get that much closer to creating the stone, and I can't thank you enough. And I hope that it wasn't in vain, not just your sacrifice, but this entire journey.'_

"Moving on down the street  
I see people I won't ever meet  
Think of her, take a breath  
Feel the beat in the rhythm of my steps  
And sometimes it's a sad song"

'_Rose, Winry, I promise I won't forget you two. I'll remember you every time I see a flower or mechanical things.'_

"But I cannot forget  
Refuse to regret  
So glad I met you  
Take my breath away  
Make everyday  
Worth all of the pain that I have  
Gone through  
And mama I've been cryin'  
Cause things ain't how they used to be  
She said the battles almost won  
And we're only several miles from the sun"

'_I will make sure that we succeed, even if it means dieing in the process.'_

"The rhythm of her conversation  
The perfection of her creation  
The sex she slipped into my coffee  
The way she felt when she first saw me  
Hate to love and love to hate her  
Like a broken record player  
Back and forth and here and gone  
And on and on and on and on

'_Sloth, I will kill you, whether you look like my mom or not, because you're a heartless beast who would do anything to get what you want.'_

"But I cannot forget  
Refuse to regret  
So glad I met you  
Take my breath away  
Make everyday  
Worth all of the pain that I have  
Gone through  
And mama I've been cryin'  
Cause things ain't how they used to be  
She said the battles almost won  
And we're only several miles from the sun"

"She said the battles almost won  
And we're only several miles from the sun"

Tears were pouring down on Ed as memories bombarded him with their harshness and kindness, their gain and their lost, their equivalent exchange.

Unbeknownst to Ed, someone was watching him from a tree near the window of Ed's room, and he was crying right along with him.

* * *

Ed was woken awake rudely by the nurse from yesterday at around dawn. She was shaking him to make him wake up. 

"Just two more minutes? Please?" begged a half-asleep Edward.

"We don't have two minutes! You're meeting with the Hokage in fifteen minutes!" shouted the nurse. She was trying to undress him and fit him into a pair of clothes.

"Woah, lady! I appreciate you help and all, but what are you doing?" asked Edward now slightly afraid of this woman.

"Getting you dressed. Now get these on!" she commanded. She threw him a pair of undergarments and a pair of long baggy dress-like pants. "Don't complain about the pants, you'll thank me later."

"Can I at least have some privacy?" exasperatedly asked Ed.

"Fine," the nurse sharply replied. She turned ninety degrees to the left and waited for Ed to finish putting on his pants. "But the Kokage said he'd send someone to fetch you so finish up quickly.

Ed ignored her last words as he rushed to undress and then redress his bottom half. However, as he was in the process of slipping them on, Naruto burst into the room.

"Elric, the Hokage sent me to…" Naruto trailed off as he realized that Ed was half naked and the two of them just stood there staring at each other. There was a huge stress mark on Ed's forehead and Naruto's eye started twitching.

"Stop staring at me!" screamed Ed.

"What's going on?" inquired the nurse, who was still facing the wall.

"The Hokage sent me to get Elric but it seems that he's not ready yet," stated Naruto, who started to slowly edge out of the room. "I'll just be waiting out here."

Now once again with his privacy, Ed finished getting dressed. He was wearing his now medium length golden hair naturally, the pair of black dress pants and a black sleeveless shirt over a navy blue long sleeved shirt. He then slipped on his red jacket, which somehow shrunk around five sizes, yet it still fit perfectly on him.

"What's taking so long Elric?" anxiously asked the boy.

"I'm done and stop calling me Elric!" shouted Ed.

Naruto ignored his last comment and led him to the Hokage tower. When they approached the Hokage's office, the double doors were closed. Naruto knocked loudly on the door and shouted

"Old Man Hokage, I brought Elric Edward just like you said!" very annoyingly and snickered after saying the word "Edward."

The doors opened almost magically, until, that is, they both saw a man wearing a strange outfit with a scar on his nose in the doorway.

"Naruto, how many times have I told you to treat your elders with respect!" shouted the young man.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei," mumbled Naruto apologetically.

"You are Elric Edward?" inquired Iruka.

"Yes, I am," answered the boy.

"Sit down over here," he commanded. He pointed to a seat in front of a desk against the wall on the opposite side of the room. "The Hokage will be back shortly. Naruto, you are to wait outside and escort him to his living quarters, or the gates depending on what the two agree too.

"Hai," responded Naruto. That grin was back on his face and Ed just wanted to wipe it off his face.

As Naruto left, Iruka walked next to Ed, who was currently sitting in the chair.

"I'm Umino Iruka," introduced the man.

"Edward Elric," likewise responded the boy.

After introducing themselves, a figure walked into the room. It was clothed in a white robe and wore a white and red imperialistic hat with flaps of cloth covering every aspect of his head except for his face, which couldn't be seen from the angle Ed was sitting at. The figure walked very quickly and reached the desk in around ten seconds, and Ed finally saw its face for the first time. It was that of at least a sixty year old man.

_'Wow, he's agile for such an old man,' _thought Ed.

"In case you haven't already guessed, child, I am Sandaime Hokage of this village, Konoha," introduced the old man. He seemed to have an aura of grandness and respect.

"I am not a child dammit! I'm sixteen years old!" shouted Ed, slamming his right fist onto the table and felt a reverberation go throughout his arm. Ever since the auto-mail surgery, he had never felt any feeling in that arm. He glanced down at his arm and found that it was flesh and bone, not metal.

_'My arm…it's normal again. It's not auto-mail! Does that mean that Al is…'_ excitedly thought Ed. He had never felt so excited in his life. But he snapped back to reality as he realized that both adults were laughing, **at him.**

"What's so funny?" demanded Ed, getting pissed at the behavior of the two grown men.

"You? Sixteen years old?That would be.. like..like… saying Kokage-sama is only twenty years old!" laughed out Iruka.

"Yes, you do only appear to be around Naruto's age," chuckled the Hokage.

"And how old would that be?" growled Ed.

"Seven!" laughed out Iruka.

_'Wait, I'm not that short, am I?' _Ed asked himself.

"Do any of you have a full length mirror?" asked Ed.

"Hold on," replied the old man, still chuckling. He then made some odd signs with his hands and a mirror appeared seemingly out of nowhere next to Ed. He then stood up and all the color drained out of his face as he saw his height.

"I'm…I'm seven years old again," sputtered the flabbergasted alchemist.

"Why, yes you are. Thank you for finally telling the truth," thanked Iruka.

Ed just sighed out of frustration.

"So, young man, what village are you from?" asked the Hokage.

"Resembool," answered Ed.

"Resembool? I've never heard of it, is it far away?" further inquired the Hokage.

"I don't know, I don't even know how I ended up here," confessed Ed.

"This is a serious matter indeed," thought the Hokage out loud. "It seems like you will have to take up residency here since we don't know where you are from. How skilled are you in the ways of the ninja?"

"Ways of the ninja?" questioned Ed. Disbelief was written all over his face.

"You mean you have never been taught about the ninja code?" asked Iruka, who was also in disbelief.

"Yes," hesitantly answered Ed.

"Iruka, I want you to hire one of the older, more experienced academy students to tutor Ed while he attends academy with children his own age," commanded the Sandaime.

"Hai, it will be done Hokage-sama," answered Iruka sharply.

"Now the only question is of where you will be residing…" stated the Hokage.

The doors burst open as Naruto shouted

"He can stay with me, believe it!"

* * *

Sorry, but I just had to do that last part. Also, do you guys want me to put the jutsus in English or Japanese language? Ex: Bunshin no jutsu vs. doppelganger technique. Peace out. 


	3. The Hokage's Decision

Hey people who are reading this story. I'm really really really really really HAPPY! You guys (reviewers for ch. 2) hold the prize for most reviews for any of my chapters, 10 the eleven the last time I counted! All of you get $100 gift certificates for e-bay! (Authenticity may vary).

Prize Disclaimer: Oh yeah, in case you're not used to stories that give out prizes, they are all given to your imagination. (Like I'd give up $1,100 for you guys. I still love reviews, but, yeah. And please don't sue me.)

KagomeandRin: Thank you, I always want to make interesting stories.

AngelHinata: Don't worry, I'll work as diligently and attentively as a high schooler can…oh look there's a butterfly! (gos and chases it) I'll keep that in mind, but it's also up to what the other reviewers want.

Master Sanosa: This is probably one of the best compliments I've received yet. Unfortunately I'm watching the dubbed version on CN (Anko and Ino sound like their guys and Chouji sounds like a fly!) As before, it's up to what the other reviewers want also (I do value all of you guys's opinions highly though).

Sexyspoonswillruleusall: Yeah, when my ceramic cow comes to life. And thanks for the compliment.

IcecreamMakingGuy: I believe it is a German word. And see response to either AngelHinata or Mastor Sanosa's reviews.

KitMiyu: Ok

Catwarrior: Don't you mean he won't stay sane? And what do you mean by "is nari the kid?" Who is nari and which kid?

Scienceboy: Don't worry about the alchemy part…

JadenYuki90: Thank you very much.

Blackfeatherz29: Your welcome. And if I do end up putting jutsus in Japanese form, I'll make sure to put the English translations.

Windsbane: Thank you for deciding to read my story.

Poll results:

Japanese-123

English-123

Wow…a tie. Since one reviewer gave a second choice, opposed to the manga version of the jutsus, Japanese jutsu names win! I'm sorry people who voted for English, but I will put the translations in parenthesis (which I should have done in the first place. Stupid me.) I do have some created jutsus, but the translations are quite…not sounding right. If anyone knows fluent Japanese and would be nice enough to translate the names for me, I'd be incredibly thankful. HERE IS YOUR POCKY PEOPLE! (Throws pocky at reviewers, accidentally missing and breaking windows.) Yeah, my aim is that bad.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, Fullmetal would be centered around Alphonse and Naruto around Haku.

**Note: In case you haven't already inferred this, I have altered the Naruto timeline. Please don't hate me for this.

* * *

**

**Chapter 3: The Hokage's Decision and Alphonse's Memory**

"Naruto! What have I said about respecting your elders!" reprimanded Iruka.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei," mumbled the boy apologetically.

_'Whoa, déjà vu,' _thought Ed.

"That actually is not a half-bad idea Naruto," pondered the Hokage. "In fact, it will be done. Edward, Naruto will escort you to his apartment. A tutor that Iruka-sensei will hire will arrive at the apartment in three hours. In one week I expect you to attend academy with your peers."

It took a few minutes for this information to settle in, and when it did, his eyes bugged.

_'I have to live with…with…with…him? Why can't I just die right now?'_

"Hokage-sama, how old do academy students usually start attending…you know…academy?" inquired the pissed alchemist.

"Oh…five or so years?" answered the Hokage, a little unsure about it himself.

_'Not only do I have to live with this annoying person but I'll be at the bottom of my class too?' _thought Ed. Inner Ed was crying anime tears.

"The three of you are dismissed," released the Hokage.

"Come on Elric-san, I'll show you my apartment," cried out an excited Naruto. He literally dragged him out the door and out of the tower. Iruka, however, stayed in the office.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure it is wise to only give him a week to learn two years worth of training and why are you so intent on sending him to academy?" asked Iruka, allowing some of the anger he felt at the Hokage's seemingly rash action seep into his words.

"Do not question my actions Iruka," coldly commanded the venerable old man. "You are dismissed." Iruka reluctantly left the Hokage's office, now even angrier at the old man.

_'There is something…different…about that boy. I just hope that he won't crack under the pressure…and Naruto. If I am wrong, I will have to live with that fact the rest of my life, I can only hope for the best,' _thought the Hokage with a sigh. He stared out the window and pondered the future of his village.

_**Meanwhile…**_

"This is my apartment, Elric," stated Naruto with one of his signature grins. Ed just stared at the wreckage of the "apartment." There was garbage and dirty laundry every where; it was literally Armageddon. The only place where there was no garbage or dirty laundry on the floor was the bathroom; but there were dirty towels and an overflowing wastebasket. Naruto then led him to a room that was empty at first glance, because it was empty. There was only four walls, a ceiling, and a wood floor.

"Sorry that it's so empty but I've been running low on funds lately," explained Naruto. There was a faint hint of sadness in his voice and his smile disappeared and was replace by a frown as he explained this, but the new tenant didn't even hear the apology as he was wondering where he was going to sleep. Even when he was traveling with Al he had either slept in a sleeping bag or in a bed.

_'I suppose it's better than living in the streets though,_' reasoned Ed with a sigh. "Well, what do you have to eat Naruto?" At this Naruto regained all of his happiness and that grin was plastered on his face like a painting.

"Ramen," responded Naruto, somehow managing to keep his grin even while talking.

"And?" coaxed Ed.

"Ramen," repeated Naruto, still grinning.

"Do you have anything other than ramen?" asked Ed exasperatedly.

"Nope!" answered Naruto with great pride.

_'Great, instant ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,' _thought Ed, who almost vomited at the thought.

"Are you okay? You look green, like my pet," asked Naruto.

"You're…pet?" questioned Ed.

"Yeah, Squishy-san," stated Naruto matter-of-factly. "Wanna hold him?"

"No thanks," refused Ed politely.

"Aw come on, he wants to say hello," pleaded Naruto. And with that he went into his refrigerator (a/n: does anyone know if they exist in Naruto?) and got out what looked like an unripe tomato. He then walked back to Ed's room and plopped it in his hands. On closer inspection it was a green, furry, squishy, tangerine. In other words, it must have been sitting in his refrigerator for at least a couple of months, maybe even a couple of years. That was the last straw for Ed's insides. He vomited, all over Naruto's neon green jumpsuit and by accident gripped Squishy-san, causing it to splatter all over the both of them. After vomiting, he looked up and saw the look of a child hurt one too many times as tears welled up in Naruto's eyes. He ran out of his apartment wiping his eyes, not letting a single sound escape.

_'Why does this always happen? Why does everyone want to take away everything I value or need? They won't even hire me, forcing me to live off of the meager orphan fund, which hardly even covers my rent. One day, I'll become Hokage and show them all whose boss,' _Naruto screamed in his mind with a mixture of sadness and anger at the ignorance and spite of the villagers, and his new roommate.

Ed's eyes diverted to the ground and he sighed. He couldn't believe he'd made the one person who actually took him in cry, and it was a seven year old for that matter.

'_There's only one thing for me to do,'_ thought Ed bravely. _'To make it up to Naruto, I'll attempt to actually make this look decent.' _He walked around the apartment saw what needed to be cleaned up and which rooms had the most garbage and laundry, and by doing this, for the first time he saw Naruto's room. It was actually very similar to his new room actually; there was a plain futon, a medium sized dresser, and a hamper. It was a humungous surprise to him; he expected Naruto's room to be even more of a mess than the rest of the apartment. Ed decided that he would start with the ramen packages that were reeking up the place. He went rummaging through empty cupboards looking for large garbage bags, and he actually found some, two of them. As he was thinking of a way to do it, an important question popped into his mind;

'_Can I use alchemy here?' _He experimented by drawing a small transmutation circle with a nearby crayon on a ramen package and then…

* * *

"You know…Ed, your brother," annunciated Winry. 

"I don't have a brother named Ed Winry, I'm an only child," I said. Just to make sure I tried remembering if I did know anyone named Ed.

"Yes, you do! Damn it Al! You always looked up to him!" shouted Winry, tears welling in her eyes out of frustration. I just shook my head signifying a negative. She probably just imagined him and didn't realize it. "Then I'll just help you remember him then," threatened Winry with a demonic twinkle in her eyes. As she was about to bring her wrench that appeared out of nowhere down on the boy's head, she felt someone grasping her hand.

"He probably has a slight case of amnesia Winry. It'll go away eventually," reasoned Rose, keeping her grip tight on the wrench, but looking with compassionate eyes towards Al, who was laying bed with ruffled light brown hair.

'_He's almost as cute as his brother is,' _thought Rose dreamily. _'Did I just think that?'_

"Thank you Rose," I said. I looked up and smiled at her, and she smiled back. _'She really does look pretty in that pink tank-top,' _the thought popped into my mind before I could dismiss it. "Now if any of you mind, I'm going to go out and walk around." Since neither of them said anything I got out of bed and walked out of the door. It was cool out, just like how it was when I burned down our house after Mom died. Painful times, those were; it was just me and the Rockbells. I went and visited my mother's grave, but there was something different about it; the ground was uneven, like someone had dug up the ground there. _'No.' _I then started to frantically dig like Den. _'No, only a monster would do that.'_ I finally found it, her coffin. I opened it and burst into tears. "What…kind…of monster…would do…this?" I sobbed, expecting the sky to answer, and sure enough, it did. Snow flakes started to free fall, like small, pure, feathers. I just stared into her empty grave and decided the only thing I could do for her now would be to rebury her coffin, and so I did. And then I just lay there, near her grave, letting snow pile around me while I sobbed tears that stung my eyes and face. I think I fell asleep there because when I woke up I was under a blanket next a fire. _'If I ever found who did that, Mother, I will avenge you.'

* * *

_

Please R&R. Flames are accepted with open arms. Also, do you guys want parings in this or not?


	4. Fading into Unconsciousness

Hey hey! Everyone, here is a question to clear your mind; if you put bubble bath in a volcano, will bubbles come out when it explodes? And now, since all of the little kids are gone, I can get into the passionate, hot, **CENSOR**. Woops, need to turn that censor off; there we go! Now to finish my sentence; hot, passionate, lustful, Caribbean Lime Sandwich from Subway (or Blimpies, don't know which.)

Garra-Chibi: How dare you trash my girl Winry like that! You are so rude! (Check my profile and see how much I "love" her)

Scienceboy: Hmm…Interesting pairing…EdxSaku…

Sexyspoonswillruleusall: Hmm…You'll have to read to find out. Hehehe

Satoshi Silver Syoran: Is something wrong? And strange is good, at least in my opinion.

Mastor Sanosa: I can't answer the first question for spoiler reasons and the second, no, it wouldn't since alchemy is a learned skill, like smithing or jutsu.

Winsbane: Thank you for the support.

Silver windflame: Thank you.

Paul Cousins: Your plea for alchemy may or may not be answered this chapter. Thank you so much for the information, construction equipment, hmm…As for the pairings, well, I'll do my best to not make it a "love at first sight" thing and then it turns into a divorce court and then people are murdered. On the other hand…

Blackfeatherz29: Yes, the two are the same age, the ripe age of seven. And remember, this is only ch. 4…

Catwarrior: You never know…

**For all original jutsu, they will be put into English form, but besides that, they will be in Japanese. **

Disclaimer: Only own the story plot for this crossover and some created peoples.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Fading into Unconsciousness**

After two hours of cleaning, Ed miraculously made the apartment he shared with Naruto half-decent. Now there were no ramen containers on the ground or laundry strewn about. The place still reeked of aged ramen and dirty laundry though. Ed plopped down onto a newly discovered couch. For some reason he felt tired and worn out, like he used his own energy.

_'Alchemy has never done that to me before, why now?' _thought Ed. _'Okay, let's go over the checklist first: ramen containers placed in bags, check, clothes put in piles, check, bags transmuted into a futon, check, clothes put in washing machine, check. Is that it? No, get rid of horrible ramen and dirty laundry smell.'_ Ed sighed and left the house to find some sweet smelling flowers or something to rid the room of its abhorrent stench. He wandered through the streets of the city _'Konoha?' _and looked around for some perfume or flower shop. And sure enough, he came upon a fancy looking one, it was called Yamanaka Flower Shop. _'It looks decent enough, maybe I can find something sweet smelling,' _thought Ed as he entered the store. As he entered the store, he saw what seemed like a humungous congregation of plants, from big to small and from black to white. He went through one of the aisles of shelves that had perfume made from flowers (a/n: don't really know if the Yamanaka's do sell this, but in this fic they do) when someone approached him.

"Hello, may I help you?" asked the person. She was wearing a pink kimono with blue roses on them. She had long, blonde almost white hair that dazzled with the Sun and icy blue eyes.

"I'm looking for something that smells good," replied Edward slowly, awed at the beauty of the girl, but then remembered that he was sixteen, not actually seven. _'Baka! You're ogling a seven year old!' _Edward scolded himself.

"I have just what you need then," exclaimed the girl with a very cheery tone. She started to look over the aisles when a blue bottle caught her eyes. She pulled it out and examined it as if to check something. "This is essence of bluebell and it costs one thousand yen," cheerfully explained the girl. Then realization struck Ed like a hammer; he had no money on him.

"Err, I just recently moved here and I have no money," explained Ed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hold on a second," requested the girl. She ran off and around five minutes later came back and fetched Ed. "My mom would like to see you." She led Ed through what seemed like a maze of aisles and gardens before they reached a counter where a woman almost exactly mirroring the young girl in appearance. She held out a small bag to Ed, and he gently took it and muttered a thank you.

"It's a housewarming present," explained the woman. "I am Yamanaka Inoichi (a/n: don't know the name of ino's mom, so I made up a name), who would you be?"

"Elric Edward mam," sheepishly answered the boy.

"And where are you living?" sweetly asked the woman.

"In Naruto Uzumaki's apartment," answered Ed. At this, the woman gasped and became incredibly angry with him for some reason.

"Get out," quietly commanded the woman, losing control of her emotions. "Get out! Get the hell out of this store and never come back!" shrieked the woman, entirely red in the face. Ed just looked at her strange and left with the perfume.

_'Somebody has anger issues,'_ thought Ed disdainfully. _'Is there something wrong with Naruto? I mean, I know he's annoying but it's not so bad as to make that Yamanaka woman pop a blood vessel.' _He then glanced at a watch he had transmuted for himself from a ramen container, his test subject, and saw that it was a quarter to eight. _'Crap! My tutor's supposed to arrive in fifteen minutes, I better run for my life.' _Ed then started to sprint towards the apartment. He found the door almost torn off its hinges. _'Oh shit, what happened now?'_

He entered the apartment and the first thing he saw was the wreckage all around. The refrigerator had a gaping hole in it, the one sofa Naruto owned was torn down the middle, and there was rubble all over the floor. His eye started twitching at the sight of this, for he had spent two whole hours cleaning up laundry and garbage. Then he saw it. It was standing in his room tearing his new futon apart.

"You bastard! Do you know how long it took me to clean up this apartment!" screamed Ed. He then transmuted the floor into spikes that wrapped around the intruder, immobilizing and stabbing him, but not before It turned around and aimed its eyes at Ed, completely paralyzing him. Its eyes brought out Ed's deepest fears and dreads, of death, of failing his brother, of failing himself. It had grey eyes that pierced the very soul hidden behind a frog mask. Right before It was immobilized, it threw three shuriken at the boy, one hitting his chest and two hitting his shoulders. Blood spurted out of him like a faucet as he collapsed into a heap onto the floor, eyes blank and his body limp like a broken doll.

* * *

"Winry, Rose, I'm leaving," I stated bluntly. "I need to find the monster who desecrated Mother's grave." It wasn't easy saying goodbye so quickly after arriving. I couldn't stand seeing tears well up in Winry's eyes or the sad smile on that touched Rose's lips. I turned my head and left the door with around one hundred dollars in my pocket.

"Al, be careful," whispered Rose.

"You better come back Alphonse Elric, or else," warned Winry. It was supposed to be threatening, but her emotions betrayed her words.

"Don't worry, I will come back," I assured. I didn't even turn my head back as I left the door. The recently fallen snow still coated the ground as I began my three day's worth journey towards the comfortable rural community of Mezzeret. I looked up and saw the Sun rise up to greet me and wish me luck on my journey. I trudged onwards for six hours before I finally reached a small hamlet. There I bought some bread and apple juice as a small lunch. Afterwards I continued my journey, walking for another six hours straight until I reached the next town, this one I knew by the name of Siraiya. By this time I began to stagger and was slowly falling into unconsciousness. I desperately tried to fight off the demon but by the time I was five yards from the gates I succumbed to its demonic powers.

* * *

**Sorry for the chapter, but I've got a CENSORload of projects due next week and so I decided to give you this chapter instead of making you wait a week or two.**


	5. Teacher

Yay! I have found a Shino romance story where he's not with Kiba! It is a very good story and I suggest you read it if you're fed up with canon relationships being massacred. It's called Filling in the Emptiness by Lithe-Fider, and another good Shino romance is Why Love is Chaos by Shinigami29. Don't mistake my obsession with pairings that aren't butchered and that have my second favorite character for love! Also, I'm sorry if this chapter is boring, but it is crucial to the plot.

I decided that I will only put review replies if I feel that one is needed, however I do value your compliments with the highest regards.

Scienceboy: Whoever said that Ed was killed? And ANBU are used for assassinations often.

Catwarrior: No.

Garra-Chibi: For anyone who didn't get this, like Garra-Chibi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, Hinata, etc. are all 7 (except for Gai's team, who would all be 8).

Oh yeah, I made a mistake last chapter. Ino's FATHER is named Inoichi, so yeah. Thank you IcecreamMakingGuy.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Teacher**

Ed awoke panting and sweating. He had that dream again; the one with his father. Except there was more added to it this time; he was fighting against his friends: Mustang, Armstrong, Hawkeye, and everyone else, they were hunting him.

_'That was one hell of a nightmare,' _thought Ed, trying to gain his composure. He looked down and realized that he wasn't in Naruto's apartment, but in a hospital bed. _'Great, two times in one day.'_

"Good you're awake," coolly stated a voice.

"Who was that?" asked Ed. The reply came in the form of a book, a heavy book by the feel of it, coming down on his head. "Ow that hurt!" complained the boy.

"I am your tutor, Akane Atsuko," introduced the voice, presumably a girl.

"Why am I here?" inquired a confused Edward.

"You had chakra exhaustion, an almost fatal hit to the heart, and cuts to your right brachial artery and your left cephalic vein. You'll be in the hospital for the next two weeks, so that means I'll be training you for three weeks instead of just one," yawned the girl. _'This also means triple the pay for me, hehehe.'_

"What is chakra?" asked Ed.

"Oh for Kami's sake you don't even know what chakra is? This'll be much harder than I thought it would be," angrily sighed the girl. _'Wait, how could he suffer chakra exhaustion if he doesn't know how to use chakra?'_

"Sorr-rry," sarcastically apologized the boy, which was met by another smack to the head with the heavy book. "That hurts," pouted Ed, rubbing his head where the book made contact, twice. "And what is it?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot, this is a handbook on the ways of the shinobi. I have handwritten it myself and you are to guard it with your life. On that note, give me your hand," explained Atsuko.

"Why?" questioned Ed.

"Just give me your hand baka!"

"Fine, fine."

And with that Atsuko firmly grasped his hand and placed it palm down on the cover. This caused an electric-like effect to spread throughout his body, shocking him. Ed screamed out in pain and then the feeling ebbed away, taking the pain with it.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Ed.

"A simple imprint jutsu, it will make sure that you will be the only one able to open the book," explained the girl. With that she handed him the book, and he opened it to find that it had only one page.

"What's the big deal? This "book" has only one page," complained Ed.

"Just read the first two pages," instructed Atsuko. Ed obeyed the directions and the pages just informed him of the meaning of a shinobi and their duties.

"Okay, I'm done," announced Ed.

"Close and then re-open the book," further instructed the girl. Edward did so and a two different pages appeared. "Each day five new chapters will appear. Each chapter consists of roughly fifteen double pages. You are to memorize each of the twenty chapters in five days."

"What, that's insane!" retorted Ed.

"Well, this is the only way to become a shinobi. There are no shortcuts to becoming one, so suck it up," spat the girl. She then left the hospital room, leaving the bandaged Ed lying on the hospital bed with only the book as company. A realization then struck him; he had never seen what the girl looked like.

* * *

Other than the appearance of his tutor and finding himself in a hospital bed, the day was not abnormal, until he chapter five of the book that is. The first chapter went into ninja basics and explained the requirements of ninja basics, a hazy description of chakra, and the requirements for an academy student to become a genin. The next chapter explained the genin survival tests, a description of genin missions, and the requirements for a genin to become eligible to take part in the Chuunin exams. Chapter 3 gave a hazy description of the Chuunin Exams and a description of chuunin responsiblites and missions. It just hinted at the requirements of promotion. Chapter 4 described jounin missions and responsiblites and other sub-classes of jounin such as ANBU and special jounin. Chapter 5 gave a more detailed description of chakra and the process of creating chakra. 

_'So that's what chakra is; the source of energy used by every Shinobi to create jutsus which is transformed from stamina, which is a mixture of the energy of the mind and body,'_ thought Ed. _'So basically I converted too much of my stamina into chakra? But I didn't use a jutsu, I used alchemy.'_ Then he came upon hand signs, which channel the chakra into creating a ninjutsu or genjutsu. _'This sounds a helluva lot like transmutation circles; converting energy into a new form." _He then read more about hand signs and how the combination and execution of them could decide a successful jutsu and a failed one. _'I wonder.'_ The next time a nurse came to deliver upon diagrams of the twelve hand signs and about how the combination of them dinner, Ed asked for a notebook and several pencils. Nobody in the hospital could sleep that night due to loud bangs and shouts coming from Ed's room. When that same nurse came back to further heal Ed's injuries, she found an incinerated room, Ed with burns on his body, a piece of paper with notes on it, a book, and Ed smiling in his sleep.

"Huh, this gonna hurt more than it should, sorry kid," sighed the nurse. She then used a medical jutsu and thrust it into Ed's chest. Ed then started to fidget and groan in his sleep. She then started moving it throughout Ed's body, causing the pain to move with it. By the time she reached his damaged artery, he was screaming in pain, asleep. She then did several one handed seals and thrust another jutsu, which was similar to a ball of chakra, into his chest, causing even more pain. She then moved that one towards his damaged vein. By this time he was seemingly seizing due to the pain. _'Five more seconds,' _thought the nurse, gritting her teeth. She then immediately tugged the jutsu out of his body and his body stilled. The nurse then got balm and applied it to the burns on his face. "He does seem to be recovering quickly," thought the nurse out loud.

"He should be, considering the fact that he could use a jounin-level jutsu," stated a voice behind her.

"Good morning, Atsuko-san," greeted the nurse, turning around to face her. _'It's scary, how much she looks like her father,' _thought the woman. "The boy has just undergone treatment so he will be unconscious for the next few hours," informed the nurse.

"Arigoto Kisara-sama," replied Atsuko. Kisara then left the room, leaving Atsuko with the sleeping Edward. She slumped into a chair and watched a butterfly fly into the room through an open window. _'A pity that beauty is so fragile,' _and with that thought, she pulled out a kunai and threw it like a dart at the butterfly, sticking it's impaled corpse to a wall.

"That's not very nice to do," reprimanded Naruto as he walked into a room and walked next to Edward, looking at him confused. "Why is he back here?"

"None of your business Naruto-teme now get your ass out of this room now unless you want to end up like the butterfly!" growled the angry genin. Anger mixed with confusion and rejection in Naruto's eyes but he said nothing as he exited the room. _'I will get you back for what you did to my family you bastard.' _Atsuko then heard a yawn as her charge woke up. "What is the first jutsu you learn as an academy student?"

"Kawarimi no jutsu?" answered Ed tentatively, stifling a yawn.

"Wrong! It's bunshin no jutsu, so get reading!" And with that Ed's day of hell began.

_

* * *

_

Sorry this is short, but I wanted to get at least something up this week. Do you guys want chapters with both Ed and Al in them (like chapters 1, 3, and 4)or a different chapter for each character?


	6. Meet the Demon

Ohayo. I am formerly spellsword 666, now ragnarok-the fallen angel. This is the Alphonse section of ch. 5. It's freakin HUGE. This is my longest chapter EVER being longer than 2,00 words. For the chapter issue I brought up, I've decided that whenever possible I will combine the chapters, however if I feel that it would take too long to do both parts, I'll submit them as two different chapters. And now the parts have their own titles! Yay!

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Song lyrics"**

**I don't own FMA or Naruto. IF I did, I would do something or other.

* * *

**

**Brawl in a Bar**

"Not now, he's waking up," whispered a voice.

"Ugh fine," halfheartedly obeyed another voice. For some reason, it took more effort than usual to open my eyes. After much struggle they cracked open, only to find that I was lying in the middle of the road, surrounded by garden gnomes. Oh wait, no, those garden gnomes were children, that's why they didn't look evil and murderous.

"Where am I?" I asked, my eyes still hardly open.

"You're right outside the gates of Sirayia," answered the second voice, attempting to sound gruff but sounded more like a puppy dog yelping. I then attempted to fully open my eyes, and succeeded and then sat up, after several embarrassing attempts. There were two of the kids kneeling over me, one boy and one girl.

"How are you feeling?" asked the girl, crimson hair blowing in the breeze. For some reason her eyes were closed, I wonder why, it's a perfectly nice day out and she's not asleep.

"I've felt better," I sighed. Which was the truth, my head hurt, my throat was burning, and my body ached.

"Get up and we'll help you get to an inn," commanded the boy in his yelpy voice. His gray eyes seemed to bore into my very soul; it was creepy. With the help of the two children, I eventually was able to stand up and then limp into the city.

It wasn't right. The city was empty, no one besides us in the streets. It seemed as if Sirayia was deserted and left for the vultures.

After several minutes of uncomfortable and anxious silence we reached a tall complex that apparently was the nearby hotel. When we entered the hotel after several minutes of trying to get past the revolving door, the lobby was empty, just like the rest of the city; it creeped me out. The last time I came here, the city was nothing but quiet with people going to clubs, bars, home, schools, reporting to and from the state, and other activities along with merchants, entertainers, and prostitutes selling their goods. The desk clerk started shivering uncontrollably for some reason as we approached him.

"H-how m-may I-I h-help y-you s-sirs a-and ma-ma-madem?" stuttered the clerk.

"We would like two adjoining rooms," smugly demanded the boy with the odd eyes.

"O-of c-course s-sir. Roo-rooms 2-212 and 2-213; f-free of ch-cha-charge," responded the clerk. The boy rudely snatched the keys from the clerk's shaky grasp.

_'Okay, something is **REALLY** wrong here. Either this kid has some kind of mind control, which is impossible, or that clerk is scared shitless of him, which is probably the reason. But why?'_

"Follow me," snapped the boy. He sounded as if he was putting on a show for some reason, but the only other person in this room was the clerk. _'Is he trying to impress me?' _I decided that even if he was trying to impress someone, it would be rude not to thank the clerk for the rooms free of charge.

"Thank the clerk for his generosity," I bluntly commanded, unmoving from my position.

"No, I don't thank no one for nothing," retorted the boy.

"First of all, it's anyone, not no one, and second, you **will **apologize and you **will **be sincere about it," I reprimanded. Geez, is this me talking like that?

"Fine, fine," the boy grumbled. "Thank you mister." He reminds me a lot like someone, but I don't know who. I feel like I've known this person for a long time but I don't know its name or what it looks like.

"Now will you follow me to the damn rooms?" asked the boy impertinently. So much for manners. The girl and I followed him to the second level of the inn and found the rooms almost immediately. All three of us entered Room 212. It was nothing like I've ever seen before. It looked as if the entire rug was velvet and the walls were pure gold. And the beds, oh yes, the bed, it was humungous! It could have supported at least five people of my size and the frames on the bed were made of pure silver. I took my shoes off and then flopped down onto the bed and inhaled deeply.

"I think that you should sleep now," suggested the boy. Yeah, that sounded good. Sleep is good. I really feel tired now. I wonder why, I mean I was just ready to go a few minutes ago…

* * *

I woke up in that incredibly expensive room when my eyes finally opened; I guess I was more tired than I thought. I slowly sat up and looked out of the window next to my bed. It was pitch black outside. I yawned, got out of bed and left the room to go explore this new deserted Sirayia. As I descended the stairs I received a death glare from the desk clerk. I decided to pretend that I didn't notice it and went up to the front desk and asked where the nearest store was.

"What, so you can rob it for the Jinchūriki?" he spitefully asked. I mean, he could at least show some courtesy to his guest.

"No, I respectfully abide by the law. And what is this Jinchūriki you speak of?" I calmly retorted.

"Ha! Like you don't know; you were only fraternizing with his demon spawn!" the desk clerk spat. Now he was getting on my nerves.

"How could you say that? They're only children, why would they rob stores?" I practically screamed at him. How could he accuse **children** of all people?

"Only children? ONLY children? They are the spawn of that demon! They'd rob, murder, and even sell themselves for that bastard!" he shouted as a rebuttal. A realization then hit him; this person known as the Jinchūriki has brainwashed two innocent children to do his bidding. Anyone manipulative enough to do this doesn't deserve to live, let alone get away with doing it.

"Then why do you let this go on? Do something about it instead of complaining about it. Show this "Jinchūriki" that you mean buisness!" I screamed, indignation resonating from my very being.

"Why not you, huh kid? You seem to have some kind of connection with his demon spawn," sleazily questioned the clerk, suddenly much calmer. "If you can get rid of the demon, I'll give you ten thousand dollars, straight out of my pocket. He goes to the Brawling Drunkard every night to get scotch and a smoke," he challenged. The nerve of him, bribing me to get rid of his troubles! The degree of lowness that some people are willing to stoop to just disgusts me.

"Fine I will, but I don't want your filthy money, instead I want you to treat the two children he's manipulating like people, not some scum you can wipe off your shoe," I accepted.

"It's right across the street from here, he'll be sitting in the very back of the bar sitting on a chair tilting back against the wall. Good luck, you'll need it." I left the room without a remark and made my way to the Brawling Drunkard. As I entered, the putrid stenches of booze, cigarettes, and vomit penetrated my nostrils, making me gag. I tried breathing solely through my mouth as I walked farther into the bar.

"**When this began  
I had nothing to say  
And I get lost in the nothingness inside of me  
I was confused  
And I let it all out to find  
That I'm not the only person with these things in mind  
Inside of me  
But all the vacancy the words revealed  
Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel  
Nothing to lose  
Just stuck, hollow and alone  
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own"**

I made my way to the back of the bar and found a figure leaning back in its chair smoking a cigarette and holding a glass of liquid that looked like scotch.

"Are you gonna just stare at me or say sumthin?" he asked.

"You are Jinchūriki?"

"And if I am?" I cocked my fist and punched him, making contact with his jaw.

"You have no right manipulating children into doing your deeds," I coldly stated. At this he just laughed.

"You think that I manipulate them?" He asked. "I saved them from the streets. They were twin orphans living on the streets, and I took them under my wing." Something inside me snapped as I punched him again.

"You think that you have a right to make children rob and steal and murder for you just because you gave them some courtesy? You disgust me!"

"You have no idea how many lies you're spewing from your mouth. They only steal because the citizens of this god awful town do nothing to help them, in fact, they've attempted to kill Andrew and Mallory several times, and I have protected both of them," he calmly disproved. He then righted his chair and stood up, and I saw his face for the first time.

"**I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I belong"**

"You…you're…only," I stuttered. He sadly smiled, his cigarette mimicking the movement.

"Yes, I am only twelve years old. But I have seen things that Satan himself should never have seen," he sadly informed. He turned around and asked me a simple question; "Have you ever been ignored, feared, or despised, Alphonse Elric?" That completely took me by surprise.

"How, how do you know my name?" I bewilderedly asked. He just smiled at me.

"I take it no, you haven't. Mallory, Andrew and I are all three, just because we are different. And I guess half of it would be my fault, spreading the rumor of murders and armed robberies. But…we should not be neglected our paradise for just trying to survive, no?"

"**And I've got nothing to say  
I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face  
I was confused  
Looking everywhere only to find  
That it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind  
So what am I  
What do I have but negativity  
'Cause I can't justify the way, everyone is looking at me  
Nothing to lose  
Nothing to gain/ hollow and alone  
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own"**

"I guess, but still, you should not have lowered yourselves to petty robbery. The entire human race is above that, so please, just stop what you're doing. You're just hurting their reputation with the citizens," I pleaded with him. I was now positive that that bastard clerk lied to me about him.

"I'm sorry you think that way, but I cannot let that remark slide by when you have no idea what you are talking about, and I believe you came here to kill me, correct? Well then, you will have your wish, if you can defeat me," he challenged. No matter how tough he tried to sound though, I could hear the sadness in his voice. "Discover why I am known as Frey the Jinchūriki!" Frey then appeared to change his very anatomical structure. Swords emerged from his forearms covered in blood. These were not ordinary swords though, they were his very bones in the form of swords. He then reached behind him and drew forth another sword, this one a broadsword measuring at least two feet in length made of some kind of metal that was pitch with swirling crimson designs. "I'm sorry Alphonse, but your death will fuel our survival," he apologized, regret clearly showing in his voice.

"**I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real  
I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long  
(Erase all the pain till it's gone)  
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real  
I wanna find something I've wanted all along  
Somewhere I belong"**

He then charged at me with one of his bone swords. I ducked under it and sweep kicked his legs. He fell but slashed at me with his broadsword in his descent, slashing my arm. I rolled away and hastily drew a transmutation circle with the blood from my arm. The floorboards twisted up into shackles and bound his hands and feet. I then drew another circle onto a table, and that morphed into a spear with a coiled shaft of gold and white and the point made of iron.

"Please, don't make me have to use this Frey," I pleaded. I really didn't want to hurt him now. I just wanted to help him in some way. To make him feel like he's wanted and doesn't have to steal to fuel his very life. He surprised me by breaking the shackles easily and then driving his sword into the floor and using it to pole-vault himself across the room, smashing his foot into my chest and breaking a bone, probably my collarbone, sending me flying into the wall. He then came charging at me with his bone swords while I was recovering from an addled and dazed feeling. I sloppily brought my lance up to guard the assault, but it worked; the two of us were trapped in stalemate. I broke it and quickly sidestepped, letting him stumble into the wall. I then pointed up my spear and pressed it to his brain stem. "Please, surrender," I pleaded.

"Never. The day I do is the day I let Andrew and Mallory down," he spat. I really didn't want to kill him, but, if it was me or him, it had to be him. If only I could calm him down. I then felt something cold run up against the unprotected flesh of my neck, a dagger.

"Please, Alphonse, move away from Frey," whispered Mallory.

"I'm sorry Mallory, but he won't stop until either me or him is dead, so I really do feel sorry for this," I apologized.

"So am I," she whispered as my world went black. Mallory held the hilt of her dagger as she plunged it's hilt into my neck.

Narrator POV

Andrew then walked from the other side of the room, bloodlust in his eyes. He then positioned himself over Alphonse and raised the sword above his chest and smiled.

"Before you die, Alphonse, you should know that this death of yours will not be in vain, it will be my test to see if I truly can become a man. And I'll answer your question; I told Frey your name. I can see into peoples' souls and know everything about them, know their relatives, know their emotions, who they treasure above everything else. And you were decent, for an alchemist," he sneered. He then lifted the sword and brought it down, connecting with bone with a crunching sound.

"**I will never know myself until I do this on my own  
And I will never feel anything else, until my wounds are healed  
I will never be anything till I break away from me  
I will break away, I'll find myself today"**

"This kill is not yours for the taking, nor is it mines. He has only done what he has done to try to give us a place where we feel wanted and needed; somewhere we belong," explained Frey, his right bone sword broken as he guarded Andrew's blow. "Now, let us go, we at least owe him the gift of protection on his journey, correct?" Mallory voiced her reply happily, while Andrew just grumbled. But unbeknownst to the three children, the entire city was waiting outside the bar with guns, swords, rocks, and other weapons, ready and more than willing to slaughter all four of the bar's occupants.

* * *

Since for English projects we have to "analyze" pieces of writing, I made a soundtrack for this story so far. For anyone who wants to know which songs I have on it so far, contact me in some way. Oh yeah, the song in chapter two was The Sun by Maroon 5 and the one this chapter was Somewhere I Belong by Linkin Park. Peace out and review! 


	7. Attack of the Three Mysterious Nins!

I'M SO SORRY PEOPLE! I really didn't mean to update this story so late but these last two weeks have been a living hell for me. Ughh. Stupid Spanish project. I've finally seen Conquerer of Shambala, yay!

Disclaimer: I own…myself, but then again…maybe I don't…

WARNING: THIS FIC CONTAINS MINOR OOCNESS (in the beginning) AND IS NOT A CANON FIC (obviously). But still, if you're a diehard canon fan of either FMA or Naruto, please do not flame me for my alterations to the storyline!

Also, I apologize for the oocness of Al last chapter, i'll try improving that next chapter.

**Chapter Six: Attack of the Three Mysterious Ninjas**

Atsuko drilled Ed cruelly on every single piece of information he had read the previous night; from which hand-sign is the rat, to what color vest do most Konohagakure's jounins wear, and to the amount of academy students graduate to become genins. This kind of drilling lasted several hours before Atsuko decided that she was satisfied with Ed's progress and began to train him in a new way.

"Today, Edward, I will begin teaching you about the handling and use of weapons. First off, there is a kunai," she explained, taking out a kunai out of her holster while doing so. "Most have a small handle to grip with one hand, a ring on the dull end so you won't accidentally let it go, for attachment to strings or wires, twirling on your finger, and other fun stuff like that, and of course there's the blade. It is usually around three to seven inches long and can be used for both melee and ranged fighting. Others are specialized kunai made primarily for ranged fighting or melee. Take this and try throwing it at that bulls-eye on that board there," she commanded. She pointed at the blank white wall.

"Uh…there's…no…dartboard…there," Ed tentatively pointed out.

"Oh, right, hold on," she groaned. _Rat, boar, dragon, dog, serpent, boar, dog, ox, tiger._ In a poof of smoke, a dartboard appeared hanging on the wall. "Jitsugen no jutsu (technique of materialization)," she explained. "It's a chuunin to jounin level jutsu, but my sensei is a little, what's the word, obsessive, over being the best team, therefore my team is ruthlessly drilled on jutsu even some **chuunin** don't know. Just be thankful that you don't have him for a sensei."

_'Yeah, and **so **you're much better,' _sardonically thought Ed.

"Now throw," sharply dictated the girl. Ed pulled back his hand to his ear and then threw it towards the board. It left his hand and hit its mark, or, where the mark would have been if it was three feet lower on the wall. "Did you see what you did wrong?" questioned Atsuko.

"How am I supposed to know what I did wrong? You didn't tell me how to do it right!" fumed Ed.

"What do you learn by me telling you how to throw a kunai? Nothing. Now if you want to learn, you'll shut your trap and within the next half an hour or you'll never be a ninja!" she seethed.

"I don't even want to be a stupid ninja," muttered Ed.

"What did you just say?" shouted a livid Atsuko.

"Nothing," grumbled Ed.

"Then figure out how to throw a kunai!" She then passed him a pack of the knives.

_'Only to get back to Resembool,' _thought Ed. He then tried throwing it the same way as before, except releasing it from his hand earlier. And he successfully got the kunai lodged into the ceiling. He started cursing under his breath and then took another one of the sharp knives and then tried throwing it by bringing his left hand back, then immediately swinging it forward, releasing the kunai during the swing and following throw with the flow until his left hand reached the space near his right ear. The kunai, hit on the very edge of the dartboard, his best effort yet. Ed mentally celebrated as he got out another kunai and tried throwing it the same way, only this time releasing a millisecond earlier, causing the kunai to hit the wall a decimeter to the left of the board. He then tried again, releasing it a millisecond later, causing the kunai to veer towards Atsuko's head, however, she caught the blunt side of the blade with her hand.

"Don't throw that way, it's too inaccurate," she dictated.

"Now you tell me," Ed grumbled. He then took out a new kunai, the last one, and inhaled deeply. He could feel the newly inhaled air clearing out his anxiousness. He then brought his left hand to the right side of his waist, and in one fluid motion he swept his hand over to his right shoulder, extending it and releasing the kunai while doing so.

He exhaled.

* * *

_The kunai hit the dartboard an inch from the bullsye, hitting the middle of the second innermost ring. Ed smirked at his success. Atsuko seemed unfazed and threw him another pouch of kunai. _

_"Hit the bullseye ten times with these kunai and read the next chapters in the book by the time I get back tonight," she commanded. After saying this, she left the room without a sound, leaving a fuming Ed to continue his kunai practice. _

Atsuko was sitting on a bench under the shade of a sakura tree, watching the beautiful pink tree bloom and the bees and the butterflies fly by.

_'Everything is wrong. Just plain wrong! Why am I the only one on my team that didn't get past the preliminary matches of the Chuunin Exam? I work the hardest, I train the hardest, hell, I was one of the top academy students! And he's supposed to look up to me. Otouto…' _Silent tears started to flow down her porcelain cheeks, clouding her brilliant emerald eyes.

_'True ninjas never cry, Atsuko-chan.'_

His words played back, causing her to cry even more. He was the one that made her who she was today, for better or for worse. He was the only one who would look after her, nurture her, treat her like the person she was. Until he decided that a child's life was more important than his own, anyway. He threw away his life, just to save that boy's life. He had someone to live for, the boy didn't; the boy was, and still is, scorned and ignored by the populace of Konohagakure.

_'Innocence is a precious thing, Atsuko-chan, make sure you hold onto it until you are ready to bloom, not before, and not after.'_

"Why, Akira-nii-chan? Why did you have to die? Answer me damn you!" she sobbed.

_'All things come to pass, Atsuko-chan. Don't dwell on your past grievances, instead look to the future and think of what you can do for others.'_

"You're right, aniiki," smiled the crying girl sadly, wiping her tears with the lavender sleeve of her undershirt. She then stood up and straightened out her rose red blouse. 'I should go fetch otouto from academy." And with that she walked out from under the shadow of the sakura tree and into the unforgiving sun.

* * *

"Damn it! How does she expect me to get this exercise right if I can't get out of bed to get the stupid kunai!" shouted Ed. He had already tried to physically get out of the bed, but it seemed as if his legs just wouldn't cooperate, which was odd considering the fact that it was his arms that were damaged, not his legs. Just then, the door to his room creaked open, and three unfamiliar cloaked figures entered into his room.

"This is him?" asked the shortest one, his long black hood revealing none of his facial features.

"Yes, this is him, the demon's slave," replied the tallest one, a dog mask covering his face.

"Kid, you shouldn't befriend scum like the demon brat. 'Cause if you do, people are gonna get hurt, you in particular," snickered the last one. He had a turban wrapped around his head, revealing only his eyes, his blood red eyes.

"Do you mean Uzumaki?" Ed asked, only slightly put off by the eyes of the third man. In a flash Ed had acquired a deep gash oozing crimson blood stretching from his ear to this nose on his left cheek.

"He has one and only name, and that is Kyuubi. Now either you do what we say, or you'll regret it," threatened the man. To emphasize the effect, the short and tall man both took out two double sided kunai.

_'Crap. I'm outnumbered **and **outmatched. Still, Naruto has been the only one besides the Hokage, that Iruka guy, and Atsuko who gave a crap about me. I will not give in.' _"No, I won't ever listen to scumbags like you!" retorted Ed, sticking out his tongue to prove his point. At this point, the turbaned man snarled and yanked Ed off of his bed by the scruff of his neck, then threw him to the ground. He shakily stood up and crouched into a defensive stance, however his legs were still troubling him. _'If I can't win, then at least I'll fight till the end.' _The two men then advanced on him, bearing their double-bladed kunai. It seemed as if all of the odds were against him, and as long as Ed could at least kill one of these assailants, he'd die somewhat happy with the fact that he stood up for what seemed to be his only friend here.

"Kenoto!" barked a male voice. The kunai-wielding men then fell to the ground, grasping their ears and rolling around in pain. "How pitiful, Ichigo, that you needed your cronies to attack a defenseless shrimp," sneered the boy, his eyes flickering from gray to red.

"You're that bitch Atsuko's younger brother, aren't you? This'll be fun, like killing two birds with one stone, or should I say, two kunai?" snapped Ichigo. She then took a kunai in each hand and flung them at the two boys. Atsuko's brother preformed a kawarimi no jutsu, the kunai hitting a pillow instead. However, if Ed used chakra, he would be rehospitalized and would even further worsen his condition, and his feet were glued to the ground, refusing to move.

_'Damn it! What the hell can I do?'

* * *

_

"Natsume-sensei!" called Atsuko, running up to the teacher. "Natsumne-sensei do you know where my otouto is? He's usually out by now," asked the frightened girl. She had been waiting for her otouto for the last five minutes near the academy's entrance, where she always waits, but he never came out.

"Gomen, I don't. He was one of the first to leave class though. You know what, you should go ask that Uzumaki kid, Naruto. Ryuichi has been rather, attracted to him lately, even though he doesn't show it," suggested Natsume.

_'Ryuichi, with, with, Naruto-teme! Gah, what could be worse?'_

"Domo arigato," quickly thanked Atsuko, making a sprint for where she last saw Naruto; Ichiraku Ramen. She arrived at the ramen stand in record time and asked the girl who worked there, Ayame, if she knew where Naruto was.

"Oh, Naruto-san? He was bragging to some kid a couple years older than him about having a new roommate a few minutes ago. Oh I'm so happy for him! He's finally getting some kind of recognition. It's so good that someone has the heart to…"

"I don't really care. Where is Naruto, tell me!" shouted the irate girl.

"Geez, calm down. He was yelling something about going to the hospital and dragged the older kid along with…" But that was all Ayame could get out before Atsuko sprinted off to her next destination.

_'Ryuichi, when I find you, you're as good as dead,' _growled the girl in her mind.

She then rushed into the hospital in time to find her first victim, Naruto, wheeling her student in a wheelchair. She ran at full speed at him, tackling him to the ground and pinning his shoulders while she kneeled over him.

"Where, is, my, otouto?" snarled Atsuko, her cerulean bangs falling completely over her eyes. He just averted his eyes to the ground. She took a hand back and slapped him. "Damn it where is my otouto, Uzumaki-teme?" He still didn't answer, but she could see that there was great sadness in his eyes.

"He's getting operated on," bluntly stated Ed, staring intently at the ceiling. At the news, Atsuko just got off of Naruto, stood up, and slumped into a waiting room chair.

"What, happened, to him?" slowly enunciating every word as if she couldn't speak any other way.

"I was…attacked," explained Ed. And so Ed explained to Atsuko what happened up to the revelation of her brother. "Then, the two kunai wielders fell to the ground clutching their ears. The third person, a girl named Ichigo, apparently, and your brother talked for about a minute and then she threw kunai at us both. Your brother executed a _kawarimi_ while I couldn't move for some reason nor could I perform any jutsu. Before I knew it, he was there, in front me. He had taken the kunai in his hand. It impaled it completely, it was horrible to watch. Then the nurse who treats me came in and incapacitated the three with just looking at them.."

"Kanashibari no jutsu," stated Atsuko. "It's a jutsu all ANBU members are required to know." She sighed. "How long has he been in there?"

"Five minutes," replied Naruto, slightly frowning.

"Then I guess all we can do is wait," Atsuko reluctantly admitted. _'Oh Akira-nii-chan how could I let this happen?'_

Sorry for the late update. It was really hard to write this chapter because I had Atsuko acting like Sakura in draft one. Please r&r. I'll accept flames as long as you say why my story sucks.


	8. Humans and Demons: Emergence

Hey there. Sorry for the previous chapter, I personally thought that it was the worst chapter I've written so far. So please enjoy this better chapter than last, hopefully. And I'm really sorry, but my Alphonse in chapter five was not Ed, it was an ooc Al, so, yeah. Please R&R. Did my last chapter so that bad? Only two people reviewed. Oh well, hopefully I got back into a good groove witht this chapter.

**Chapter 7: Humans and Demons**

The three waiting room's occupants, Atsuko, Naruto, and Edward, were impatiently waiting for Atsuko's brother, Ryuichi, to get out from surgery. Atsuko was slouched in a chair, staring mindlessly at a wall, her eyes blank, Naruto was sitting in a chair, dangling his legs and singing a song that had no melody or rhythm whatsoever, and Ed was anxiously wheeling himself around the room, motivated to thank the person who saved him, and ask him what the hell he was thinking when he decided to save him. After twenty minutes of anxious waiting, the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the hospital halls, bringing with them the exhilaration of discovery, the anxiousness of news, and the person they were waiting for.

"Yo," he greeted, waving his bandaged hand.

"Konichiwa Ryuichi-san, how are you feeling?" asked Naruto, who stopped humming his strange songs.

"Better, thanks for asking Naruto-kun," he replied. He then walked over to Atsuko and sat down next to her. "Atsuko-san, I'm back." He whispered into her ear. Atsuko kept staring blankly at the wall. "Atsuko-san?"

"Come, otouto. We should go home," she dictated. There was no emotion at all in her voice, it was as if controlled by another entity. She then got up and dragged Ryuichi with her out the hospital door by his good hand. She acted like this until they entered their house, which was more like a mansion. She then started doing complex handsigns:

_Boar, ox, dog, tiger, dragon, rat, ox, rat, snake, dog, goat. _"Kon rikaku no jutsu (technique of the soul separation)," she murmured. Atsuko's body then seemed to divide as one half of her body split apart from the other half, creating two different entities. One of the Atsukos retained her cerulean locks but had developed red eyes while the other retained her emerald orbs but developed pure white hair. "You have some explaining to do otouto," stated both Atsukos in synchronization.

"Ano, we can work something out, can't we?" nervously asked Ryuichi.

"No," bluntly replied both Atsukos.

"First of all, why the hell did you go and decide to fight three genin **alone**?" interrogated the white haired Atsuko. "You know you wouldn't have stood a snowball's chance in hell if you didn't have the Shigikame clan's kekkei genkai. And also, you were facing the one genin team whose leader hates my very essence."

"We were so worried about you! We were so afraid that you would get hurt or killed by that stupid strawberry (a/n: Ichigo means strawberry)!" wailed the other Atsuko.

"Ugh. Did you have to separate yourself? It just makes it that much harder for me to deal with you," complained Ryuichi.

"Don't talk to us that way Ryuichi, if you value your health," threatened the two girls. Ryuichi then executed the necessary hand signs and preformed a separation of the soul technique, unique to the Akane clan. Like Atsuko, Ryuichi's body divided into two separate entites; one with raven's wing hair and gray eyes and the other having dark green hair and red eyes.

"First of all, I would have been able to beat those weaklings even if I didn't have Mom's bloodline, and second, I had sent Naruto to fetch one of the nurses," retorted the red-eyed Ryuichi.

"Ano, I love you, but I couldn't stand around and allow a defenseless boy be hurt due to ignorance," sadly recited the gray-eyed Ryuichi. "Akira-sama wouldn't have wanted me to let them do that to him."

"Which brings us to our second point," said the passive Atsuko. "We don't want you going near that Uzumaki boy, he's dangerous and we don't want you to get hurt," she commanded.

"Have you learned nothing from Akira-sama before he valiantly gave his life? He taught us that every single human being is equal, no matter how different they might seem! Akira-sama would be mortified at your behavior," fumed the gray-eyed Ryuichi.

"And anyway, there is no way he would be able to reach his full potential without me. Have you seen how he is treated at school? Nobody helps him, but everybody hurts him in some way or another. He has so much potential, it would be a shame to waste it due to something he did **to save this damn village!**" shouted the red-eyed Ryuichi.

"Do you even know what that demon did to this village otouto? He nearly destroyed it! And he can do it again to because he has the…" started the emotional Atsuko.

"Shut up, he knows perfectly well what is sealed inside Uzumaki-teme," snapped the tactical Atsuko. "But did you know, Ryuichi, that if he loses control of that seal and Kyuubi is freed, our village is as good as dead?" solemnly asked the tactical Atsuko.

"All the more reason to treat him like what he is, a human. If people treated him kindly and with compassion there is no way the Kyuubi could corrupt him. There's no way a demon could corrupt a person who's happy and content!" rebuttled the gray-eyed Ryuinske.

"You're not making this easy for me, are you? As your older sister, I will write the academy and make sure that you do not even **see** the demon throughout the entire school dayday," warned the passive Atsuko.

"Kai," said both Ryuinskes simultaneously. The two boys then seemed to fuse together to create the original Ryuinske. "You are no better then Ichigo and her goons, ano. Akira-sama would be crying in his grave if he saw how you've been acting recently." And with that he walked out the door and into the night.

* * *

After being treated for his own injuries, Ed was weary and all he wanted to do was sleep, or at least lie down and think. So after his nurse helped him get out of the wretched wheelchair and back into his bed, the last person he expected to enter the room was Naruto.

"Edward?" he warily asked.

"Yes Naruto?" I tiredly answered.

"Can I sleep in here with you tonight? It's really lonely sleeping by myself and…"

"Sure, Naruto. If it makes you feel better, I guess you can," answered Ed.

So Naruto curled up like a cat and lied down on the floor next to Edward's.

"Oyasuminasai Edward-san," yawned Naruto.

"Oyasumina…" that was all Ed could say before passing out on the hospital bed.

* * *

**Emergence of a Beast**

The song on the radio ended, and two people started talking about the likely candidates for fuehrer (sp). Frey hoisted Alphonse onto his shoulder as Andrew and Mallory searched the bar for any other occupants; the bar was empty.

"Shit!" shouted Andrew.

"Brother, watch your mouth," reprimanded Mallory. "I can hear the voices of people, many people, outside. Their clanging swords together and there are also a few hatchets and mallets.

"It looks like we're not getting out without a fight then," sighed Frey. "Mallory, stay in the bar and treat to Alphonse's wounds, I want to be able to talk to him when he wakes up. Andrew, stay in here and protect Alphonse and your sister," commanded Frey.

"No, I want to help you outside," retorted Andrew.

"You're too young to witness a kill, Andy," sadly smiled Frey, his amber eyes filled with brotherly protection. "However, if the need arises, you will need to fight, so use 'it,'" permitted the twelve year old.

"I get to use 'it?'" asked Andrew, his eyes filled to the brim with glee.

"Only if you absolutely need to," confirmed Frey. He then took his broadsword and hoisted it onto his shoulder. _'In this situation, I need to fight smarter, faster, and stronger then I ever have had to fight before. I cannot let my charges be stained by the blood of fools.'_ He then stepped out into the dark to face the city dwellers. And that night there was no moonlight or starlight, only torchlight lit by the prejudice of man.

"There he is!"

"It's him!"

"Kill him!"

Torture him!"

"Crush him!"

"Stab him!"

"Smash him!" These were the many cries of the villagers as they spotted the so called 'Jinchūriki' exiting from the bar.

"He killed the boy!"

"He ate his own servants!"

"He sacrificed them to Satan!"

"If you can't fight without shouting every three seconds, you'll have one helluva fight!" shouted Frey. He then charged with his broadsword, slashing at every other person or so in his way. Within five seconds he had cleared through a line of five people and had slain around eight. He regrouped and attempted to do it again, but this time he was only able to slash two non-mortally before reaching the entrance of the bar. _'And so it begins.'_

After his assault the villagers were roused from their yelling sprees and were now eager to see the blood of the 'Jinchūriki.' The first person to charge was a man of about twenty five who had with him a forging hammer. He tried to bring it down onto Frey's head, but was easily parried and the man found his chest had a sword, a bone sword to be precise, impaled into it; right through his heart after a minute of stalemate. While the two were stalemated, another man tried attacking with a very large cleaver. He managed to stab Frey in his shoulder before the top half of his body was separated from the bottom part, causing crimson blood to spray everywhere. Frey was now starting to breathe heavily as he pulled the cleaver from his arm. _'Dammit, I can't be tired yet. I can't. I need to stay alive; for Andrew and Mallory. They need me. Dammit I can't lose!'_ Another man started to charge at him with two short swords as Frey unleashed a blood curdling scream. It sounded of such anguish and pain that it stopped everyone from moving, including the twins Mallory and Andrew.

"Mallory, did you hear that?" reluctantly asked Andrew.

"Go, brother. Go help him. He needs help. He's falling into the darkness, his eyes, they're, they're bulging. He's spewing blood and his arms. Oh my god his arms…" Mallory moaned. She then turned away from Al, who had cloths wrapped around his cuts and bruises, and vomited. Without a second thought, Andrew ran outside and prepared to use 'it' when he saw his surrogate older brother. He was covered in the blood of others, dead bodies hung from his sword.and blood dripped from his arms. And his bone swords now were tripled in length. They now started from his shoulder blades and ended around five inches above his arms. He was using them to slash the now panicked civilians, who were trying to escape his wrath. And then he turned around, and he knew that the creature in front of him wasn't his brother, it was an animal. His eyes weren't eyes anymore, they were blood red slits, and fangs grew from his mouth, oozing blood.

_'So this is what I've been longing for all of this time; complete and utter madness. The blood, it's…it's pooling on the ground around the corpses. Why did I ever want this?'_ Andrew then fell to his knees and started incoherently mumbling phrases like 'why, why' and 'the blood, it's everywhere.' One villager saw Andrew was unprotected and tried charging at him with his bare hands to strangle him. Andrew saw the man coming, but decided that he could no longer stand living after seeing…that animal kill all of those people. The man eventually reached his target and wrapped his bloodied hands around the boy's neck and shaking his head.

"Demon bastard, I've got you now," insanely laughed the attacker. However, the attacker soon found that he could no longer breathe. His eyes widened at the realization; both of his lungs had been punctured. He then vomited blood and incoherently croaked and gurgled as he lay in a pool of his own blood, his hands still loosely enclosing Andrew's neck. The now soiled Andrew looked up and found himself looking into the eyes of a true demon.

"Kill, to kill is my reason to live. You are the only one left child, you are my next victim," growled the demon. He lifted up his broadsword which was now dripping with sticky red blood, but found that he could not move his arms for the final blow. Instead several ethereal hands had emerged from the ground and had plunged themselves into his chest.

"I call it 'soul ripper.' It rips the soul from your very essence, leaving your body just an empty shell," explained Andrew. He had completely gone over the edge. He did not care that this monster used to be his surrogate brother, he just wanted him dead.

"Andrew, call back your hands," commanded a voice.

"But…"

"Now!"

"No! I want this monster dead, no, worse than dead. He took Frey away from me, I want him to be a shell of a monster; wandering around with no purpose in life! I want him to suffer!"

"Then what will happen to Frey?"

"What do you mean?"

"What will happen to him once you take his soul?" At this Andrew went silent. He didn't predict what would happen to Frey after Andrew had taken his soul.

"Release him Andrew. He's your brother," soothingly ordered the voice. Andrew reluctantly released his grip on Frey's soul and looked up into the caramel colored eyes of Alphonse Elric. Al then hastily drew a transmutation circle on the ground and soil wrapped around Frey's lower legs and arms, binding him into place.

"Andrew," said Al.

"Yes?" inquired Andrew.

"Do you remember where you found me?" inquired Al.

"Yeah, near the southern gates," responded Andrew.

"Good, now go get Mallory, and follow the road you found me on south for three days straight and go to Resembool. Keep going straight until you find a house next to a burned down one. Go into that house and tell the person who lives there that Alphonse asked if you could stay there for awhile," directed Al.

"No, I'm staying here," firmly argued Andrew.

"Please, go. If that state gets here before you leave you'll be accused of the massacre of these citizens. Now please, go," pleaded Al.

"Promise that you and Frey will come get us?"

"I promise."

"Good." Andrew then retreated back into the bar, got Mallory, and left the town, heading towards Resembool. With Andrew and Mallory gone, Al could now confront Frey.

"Frey, what's happened to you?" he sadly asked the imprisoned beast.

"Kill, I must kill!" growled the creature.

"No Frey, you've done enough killing. Look at yourself, you're covered in blood. What would your brother and sister think?"

"Brother? Sister?" he spoke as if he had never heard the words before.

"Yes, the ones you love and protect. Mallory and Andrew; the ones who idolize you and look up to you," goaded Al.

"Mallory…Andrew…oh god…what have I done?" moaned Frey. His body slowly reverted to its original form, and Al released him of the soil, causing him to collapse into Al's arms.

"It's time to go home now, Frey," soothingly said Al.

"Yes…home sounds good right now," agreed a weary Frey. Al started to walk towards the gate when he heard an audible click and cool metal being pressed against the back of his skull.

"You are going nowhere. You two are hereby informally charged of the massacre of the civilians of Sirayia under the orders of State Alchemist Celeste Redricks, regent of State Alchemist Avlin Redricks. Now put the boy down, give me the boy's sword, and both of you put your hands in the air," commanded a very curt, female voice. Alphonse did as the military officer commanded him to do and both him and Frey were led away from the city with a military escort to Mezzeret.

_'So we will meet again, old friend,' _thought Al as three guns were being pointed at him by the military guard.

And the moon never came out.

* * *

Wow, that was a long chapter. 999: evil when I'm doing a handstand.

Preview:Ed finally leaves the hospital, Naruto comes to a sad realization, and Alphonse meets an old friend.


	9. End of the Beginning

Just so you all know, I AM NOT A SEXIST! I just realized that shinobi and kunoichi are two different types of ninja (male and female, respectively). However, I'm keeping the title because Of Alchemists and Shinobi: The Broken Law sounds better than Of Alchemists and Ninja: the Broken Law, right? Or is it just me?

9-tail Naurto: Read this chapter and all of your questions will be answered. Well, you're only question.

Catwarrior: No, Al is not being shot in that chapter. He had several guns pointed at him, ready to shoot him if the need arises however.

Master Sanosa: I checked the word fuhrer, and found you were right, thanks a bunch.

Disclaimer: I own only this plot idea. If I did own FMA or Naruto, well, they'd suck.

Sorry if the chapter sucks and is a tad short, but this arc needed to be ended, and soon.

* * *

**Chapter 8: The End of the Beginning**

The bright sun pierced through Edward's eyelids as he tried to fall back asleep, but to no avail. He finally gave up the battle for sleep as he looked over the side of his bed and found that Naruto had disappeared. Ed figured that he just woke up earlier and then picked up the book that Atsuko gave him and started reading the information he was supposed to read yesterday. The chapters talked about the importance of chakra control, the concepts behind the kawarimi (replacement), henge (transformation), and bunshin (doppelganger), and how the combination of these three simple techniques can win a battle. He then tried to cram all of this information into his head before his "beloved" sensei would return and drill him with more questions. After getting around five minutes of studying done he heard the door being opened. Ed mentally readied himself for a verbal assault from Atsuko, but none came. Instead, a wooden stick came flying at his head, and hit him square in the forehead, leaving a massive bruise.

"Ow! What was that for?" demanded Ed, becoming incredibly mad.

"A ninja should always be ready for any and every assault, dobe. And that cane is for your physical rehabilitation. Kisara-sama decided that you're well enough to leave the hospital with that cane. Also, you're forbidden to use jutsus for the remainder of this week and the entirety of the next," announced Atsuko, who couldn't help but smiling herself.

"I finally get to leave this hellhole!" yelled Ed, hurriedly trying to get up, without the use of his cane, and almost collapsed before he realized just how valuable the cane was.

"And because this day is your first day out, I'll show you an example of how ninjutsu is properly executed," stated the girl. "Now hurry up and meet me at Training Ground 6." Atsuko then walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind her. A smile was plastered on Ed's face as he hobbled out of his room and out of the hospital.

Then realization slapped him, hard; he had not the slightest inkling of where Training Ground 6 was, and to add to that proverbial slap was the fact that he had no clue where he was at the moment. He started looking around for the people who had hitai-ates on, for they would obviously know where the training ground was. The first person he spotted was a person around his sensei's age with black hair hanging from his hair with red eyes wearing an entirely black uniform with a black mask with purple lines painted from the outer eye down to the cheek hanging around his neck.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where Training Ground 6 is?" politely asked Ed.

"A kilometer and a half northeast," answered the man sullenly.

"Where would north be?" asked Ed. He then felt a kunai fly by his face, and embedded itself in the hospital door behind him.

"Where the kunai's edge is pointing, now shut up before you start annoying me, shrimp. And the people who annoy me die," calmly threatened the man. He then proceeded towards his destination.

"Who are you calling a fly that you could squash with a cough drop wrapper you arrogant bastard?" shouted Ed. The man turned around and their gazes met, and Ed found that he was immensely afraid of the man; so afraid that he couldn't move.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" asked the man. Ed had no response. "Good, that's what I thought. And here's a present." Ed then found that he could move, and that he was no longer on stable footing. He fell down onto his butt as his cane snapped in two. He looked around for the man but couldn't spot him. Ed tried getting up by using half of the cane, but found that in order to not fall over he had to bend over it. He then tried finding a path that would take him northeast, and it ended up taking Ed half an hour to arrive at Training Ground 6, where he found Atsuko seemingly asleep in a tree branch. Ed snickered to himself and thought of how to get Atsuko back for hitting him over the head with books all those times. He searched the ground around him until he found what he was looking for; a rock. He then picked it up, cocked his arm, and released with enough force to hit his teacher in the head. It hit, and Atsuko's sleeping body disappeared.

_'Oh shit.'_ He quickly swerved his entire body around, looking to see if his teacher was behind him, and she wasn't. He then started scanning the surrounding area for any sign of his sensei. However, if he had been trying to sense her chakra, he would've felt a chakra signal not hidden at all coming at him at a frightening speed.

"Doton: shinju zonshou no jutsu (earth release: inner decapitation technique)!" shouted Atsuko, who burst out of the loam itself and then forced Ed into the ground, so that only his head was above ground. "That's what will happen to you on the battlefield if you act as stupidly as you just did, except instead of ending up like a turnip, you'll end up dead," scolded Atsuko. Ed was literally fuming. "Now before you go off and curse me off, why were you an hour late?"

"Some red-eyed jerk gave me probably the vaguest directions in the history of the world, insulted me, broke my cane, and then almost cut my face with a kunai!" shouted Ed in frustration. Atsuko visually paled when Ed said this. "What, what's wrong?"

"Did this person perhaps have a black and purple mask with him?" asked Atsuko warily. Ed vigorously nodded and was about to say something else before Atsuko yanked him by the hair out of the ground and into a sitting position. The boy yelped in pain and started yelling at her before she grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. "That person was Uchiha Itachi, probably the strongest ninja in Konohagakure besides the Hokage himself. I'm surprised he let you get away with just being **almost **cut and your cane being broken. He has a reputation for being…heartless,' explained Atsuko. Now, today, you're true training begins, and for the next two weeks your ass is mine. You are to meet me at this training ground every day for the next week and a half at seven o' clock in the morning. I expect you to have read the chapters of the previous day and to thoroughly know their contents. Now, I'm going to teach you the three techniques you **should **have read about last night and what they actually look like. You're already familiar with 'bunshin no jutsu' (technique of the doppelganger), so I'll show you the other two first…"

_Two weeks later_

Ed and Naruto both walked together, in almost perfect synchronization. Naruto was wearing a black t-shirt, dark red sweat pants, open toed blue sandals, a simple white cloth headband, and carried with him his holster of wooden shuriken and kunai, for the younger academy students were not allowed to have metal ones. Ed was wearing a dark blue t-shirt over a fishnet, a red overcoat like the one he wore when he was back home, black sweatpants with a dark blue streak going down the sides of the legs, and black boots. He also carried his holster of wooden shuriken and kunai, but in addition to that he had strapped onto his back a long wooden pole. Then their synchronized walking came to an end, as Ed stopped to gaze at the Ninja Academy building while Naruto walked on ahead. When Naruto noticed that his friend had halted his procession, he hollered loudly at him to hurry up. Ed just sighed at the attitude of his friend who he had grown to like over the past two weeks and followed him into the building, and into the next stage of his life.

* * *

"Don't slouch, walk properly, don't smile, don't look proud but don't look defeated either, and whatever you do, don't talk," instructed Al as the military vanguard led them into the center of Mezzeret and closer and closer towards the military base.

"I really don't see what the big deal about posture is, Al. It's not like it's a life or death matter," grumbled Frey, who had regained full control over his emotions and had returned back to his normal state.

"I know this person, and how you present yourself to her actually can be the difference between life and death, now stop talking before we got shot at again," snapped Al. The military escort had shot at the two prisoners if they were walking too fast, too slow, talked, stopped walking, or had tried resisting. Al had gotten his right arm clipped and Frey had his left leg clipped by shrapnel. The bullets were never fired directly at them, but fired close enough so that the impact of the bullets against either a building or ground caused the shrapnel to embed itself into their limbs.

Soon enough the two fugitives were brought up to a huge office building and the military vanguard opened the door and stepped aside as a woman with flowing crimson hair, rose lipstick, and a military uniform with high heeled boots slowly ascended the steps to where Alphonse and Frey were waiting for judgment to be passed upon them.

_'So, Celeste, fate brings us together once again; but this time the purpose is slightly different, don't you think?'_

When Celeste reached the two teenagers, she quickly looked over the two, and found them to present themselves in a way only two people would know how to.

"Edward, it's a fancy meeting you here. You've certainly changed, but who is this, and where is Al?" sadly greeted the woman.

"This is Frey, my…traveling companion and I don't know who this Edward is, but I'm Alphonse. Nice to meet you again, Celeste," greeted Al, smiling. Celeste narrowed her eyes, and then slapped Alphonse hard across the face, dragging her manicured nails across the soft flesh of his cheek.

"Liar! The Alphonse I knew cared about his brother above even himself! You are obviously an imposter, and a horrible one at that. Don, lock these _murderers _in the prison, and get the execution room ready, theirs is to take place seven days from today, at this time," snapped the state alchemist. She then spun around on a heel and stalked back towards the building. A man in his mid-thirties with cropped brown hair and grey eyes, presumably Don, roughly pushed the two horrified, shackled prisoners up the steps and then down a flight of steps and into a damp prison hold that smelled of stale urine and mold. He then opened one of the barred doors and shoved the two inside.

"Heh, if you were going to impersonate one of the favorite Elric brothers, you should've at least made somewhat of an effort," spat Don. He then ascended the flight of steps that he had just previously walked down, leaving the two teenagers alone together in a prison cell.

"Damn it I am Alphonse Elric and I don't have a brother!" shouted Al. And with that, he walked into one of the dark, dank corners of the cell and slumped against the wall, losing all certainty of his memories.

_'Why does everyone think I have a brother? I don't even know who this Edward is,' _thought Alphonse soberly.

"Al, I'm…I'm…scared," whispered Frey. And for the first time in his life, he cried, not out of sadness, but out of fear; fear of death, fear of the unknown, and fear of what would happen to Andrew and Mallory if he died. And so Al did the only thing he knew to do, he embraced Frey as an older brother would a younger brother and silently cried along with him in the darkness of the cell.

* * *

PROLOUGE ARC ENDED! THANK GOD! I hated writing Ed in a hospital, it was just so tedious. Well, sorry about the slow update rate, but expect the next one in around a week or two. And in celebration of this arc being ended, I'll reveal one of the pairings that will come into play next chapter: 

AlxOC

Next chapter: Edward experiences his first day of ninja school and Al confronts the one thing, or person,he fears the most.


	10. Akatsuki: Separated

Okay, this is part two of Alchemists and Shinobi: The Broken Law! I'd like to thank all of my awesome reviewers for their generosity and even the freeloaders for taking the time to read my story. I'd like to thank the following especially: Paul Cousins, Blackfeatherz29, Master Sanosa, Sexyspoonswillruleusall, and Catwarrior for reviewing so freaking often. I've got a surprise; Ed doesn't start Ninja School yet. MWAHAHAHA! I know that a lot of you were waiting for that event to occur, but don't worry, it'll happen soon enough (either next chapter or in two chapters, depending on what path I want my plot to take)

**Chapter 9**(holy crap, my longest fic yet)**: Akatsuki / Separated**

"Was the mission a success, Uchiha-san?" inquired the Hokage.

"Negative, Hokage-sama," mournfully announced the masked ANBU, still standing at attention.

"What is the status for the team assigned to you?"

"Aoi-san, Ookami-san, and Akkanjou-san have all been…dispatched," the ANBU announced mournfully once again.

"Uchiha Itachi-san, how many missions have you completed as an ANBU captain?" inquired the Hokage, resting his head on his fist.

"…Four A-rank missions, Hokage-sama," Itachi replied in a monotone

"I see, you are dismissed. Submit the report by two days' time," dismissed the Hokage.

"Arrigato, Hokage-sama," thanked Itachi. He then snapped a salute and walked out of the Hokage's office. Before leaving, however, he removes his mask, revealing a face that could only be an Uchiha's; long black hair, emotionless dark eyes, and a medium sized, angular build.

He then slowly walked out of the tower and paced off towards the meeting place, where he would see her again. While he was making his way towards the meeting place, his cold, calculating mind tried to decipher what went wrong with the mission. As he replayed the mission over and over again in his mind, he discovered that they made only miniscule mistakes that would have only affected the success percentile of completion slightly.

_'I must be calculating something wrong…there is no way that one man that possessed no visible hijutsu or doujutsu could kill three elite ANBU operatives and defeat an Uchiha ANBU captain.' _

A small child's voice interrupted his train of thoughts. Itachi looked down upon the boy's face and saw a boy that looked the same age as his otouto. The child asked for directions to a training ground that most commoners would know, so Itachi thought it fair to threaten the boy's existence and then break his cane in exchange for breaking his chain of thoughts.

Shortly, he arrived at a small clearing near the outskirts of Konoha. There he saw a twenty five year old woman with long, wavy red rose colored hair, emerald green eyes, a purple blouse, golden armguards that twined around her arms like snakes, navy blue sweatpants, ivory leg-guards that mimicked her armguards, and black open toed sandals. But was most noticeable about the woman was her leaf hitai-ate that was used as a headband; it possessed a gaping gash through the middle.

"Itachi-kun, it's been a long time," the woman greeted, her voice held a soft and comforting sound like velvet.

"Two years, two hundred and eighty seven days, two hours, forty two minutes, and seven seconds to be exact, Ai-san," coldly corrected the Uchiha ANBU captain.

"That's my Itachi-kun, always so precise," complimented Ai, winking. Itachi gave no answer to this. "The reason I asked you to come here, Itachi-kun, is because I have a proposition." At this Itachi raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "My…captain has taken an interest in you, Itachi-kun. He wants you and your entire prowess to be in the service of Akatsuki. Of course, you'd be repaid, with immeasurable power that could rival that of Kami himself. So what do you say, join us and gain power, or stay in this wretched village and grow fat and weak and deal with your pigheaded clan? The choice is yours, Itachi-kun. Of course, if you decline, I will have to kill you," threatened the woman. "You have one week to decline or accept my offer; meet me at this exact same spot at dusk. If you don't show, I will take that as a decline. So until then, ja ne." Ai blew a kiss in Itachi's direction and then dissipated into a cloud of mist.

Itachi kept standing in the same spot, pondering his options. The wind began to pick up at that moment, blowing his hair to the side and his clothing started to billow. He then decided that it was time to return to his present place of captivity; the Uchiha estate. He had already come up with many different future scenarios for the two decisions that he was offered and as he began his return to the Uchiha estate, weighed each scenario against the others. By the time he reached the estate, he was almost positive of his verdict.

* * *

The two had been running for a day straight without food, water, or rest and were both dangerously close to falling unconsciousness. The only reason that they hadn't was because of their devotion to their surrogate older brother.

"Mallory, how tired are you?" asked Andrew, panting.

"Not that tired," Mallory responded, who was also panting.

"You're lying," bluntly gasped the boy.

"Honestly, I'm fine," assured Mallory, still plodding on the rode. Andrew stopped his seemingly endless trudging and firmly grasped her shouler.

"No, you're not. And anyway, Frey would skin us both if he found out we were captured or attacked just because we were tired or hungry or thirsty," smiled Andrew.

"I guess you're right," conceded the girl, sighing. The two then walked over to a sturdy oak tree and collapsed against it.

"You should sleep now. I'll go look for some food and water," offered the boy.

"I couldn't let you do that, I've already been too much of a burden to you," declined Mallory. "You sleep, and I'll go search." Andrew sighed at the persistence of his twin sister. She could be so infuriating at times.

"Let's compromise; I'll look for food while you look for water, deal?" asked Andrew.

"Deal," agreed Mallory, smiling. The two then split up; unaware of the fact that they would not see each other again for a very, very long time.

* * *

Mallory had been searching for an hour when she came upon a large river. It sloped over a rocky hill and looked clean enough to drink from. She bent down to take a drink from the crystalline water when she found the soft ground below the soles of her shoes to be slowly slipping.

'_No…no…it can't end this way, I need to live! I can't die yet!'_ by the time these thoughts ran through the girl's mind she was already beginning her fall into the unforgiving torrents of the river, and Mallory had never swam before because she never would have thought it was a necessary survival tool.

She started flailing around in the water frantically and shouted for help with gasped, staccato breaths. She was being carried quickly towards several large rocks, which would probably crush her body if she collided with them at the speed she was traveling at. The only solution that she could think of was to try to grab onto the first large rock, which was a little off to her left. To do this she needed to move over only a few inches to the left, but in the span of 6.5 seconds.

She tried desperately to move by using her legs to propel herself while she extended her arms as far as she could to grip onto the rock. She felt it in her gut; she wouldn't make it. She would die right then and there, her body crushed by the hard, rough surface of the brown rocks. With all of her willpower, she reached out to grab the rock, but grabbed something else instead; something warm; warmand full of life.

* * *

Andrew had returned to the tree ten minutes ago carrying various nuts, fruits, and mushrooms and was wondering what was taking his sister so long to get back.

'_We must have separated at least an hour ago; I hope she's alright,'_ worriedly thought Andrew while nibbling on a mushroom. He was so obsessed with waiting for his sister that he didn't notice a malevolent presence advance on him.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing out here all alone?" a man asked. He had bloodshot eyes, long, greasy black hair, and was wearing a long black trench coat with brown boots.

"I'm waiting for my sister," answered Andrew, taking another bite out of the mushroom.

"You must be hungry, if you're eating a mushroom," stated the man.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty thirsty too," agreed the boy.

"Well, the nearest town's pretty close; I could take you there and get you lodging if you want," proposed the man.

"That would be great...but...I need to wait for my sister to come back first," declined Andrew.

"I have a pen and paper on me, why don't you leave her a note?" suggested the man.

"That's a great idea Mr…"

"Abraham; Abraham Valgot." And so Andrew hurriedly scrawled out a note and placed it on the ground and placed some of the food on the edges so that it wouldn't be gone with the next gust of wind.

He then followed the man off towards the nearest town, having no clue on how vastly that one decision would impact the his entire future on an immeasurable scale.

* * *

Well, there was Chapter Nine. I hope that you enjoyed it. Please R&R. I value constructive criticism greatly, so I don't mind if you complain about my writing techniques. Also, I'm still open to any pairing suggestions if you have any. Happy Memorial Day and peace out! 


	11. Author's Notice

I'm so so sorry! I completely forgot that CN is only on season 2 of Naruto and that a lot of people have no idea (well, maybe a faint one) on who Itachi is! Okay, first of all I'd like to thank Paul Cousins for informing me of this. Okay, so you all know, the characters from last chapter: Ai, Mallory, Andrew, the three deceased ANBU, and Abraham are all OCs. Only Itachi and Sarutobi (the 3rd Hokage) are canon characters. Also, I will say in the chapter title what character the chapter will center on. For information on the characters of Naruto, the ones I use the most are listed in my profile. At least one of these websites will have the information you need. Don't review for this chapter because this will also be at the top of ch. 10. Sorry for the inconvenience!


	12. So This is School?

Disclaimer: Insert here

Note: Since this is before the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke will be OOC, just so you know.

Also, since there is, to my knowledge at least, no set in stone format for the academy, I will be creating one.

Greenfrie: I'm sorry (I think I am anyways) to disappoint you, but Ed will probably not be suicidal. For Ed's amnesia, he remembers every single aspect of his life until he creates the Philosopher's Stone. And I purposely wrote chapter 3 in that way because I thought that at least some humor was necessary, but don't get used to it.

Paul Cousins: Thank you very much for your input; it has opened my eyes to the major formatting flaws of this story. Also, I have only seen one episode of Gundam Wing in my life, so I was pretty shocked to hear that there was a mention to the series in the last chapter.

* * *

**Ch. 10: So This is School? (Ed)**

To put it simply, Ed was awed at the amount of children in the building. Sure, he had been to major cities that were crawling with children, but that was a city; this was a school building.

_'How the heck do they fit so many kids in one building? But the real question is; who would be crazy enough to look after so many of them?'_ Apparently lots of people; along with the students that were walking in the long hallway and entering doors, there were many adults, apparently the staff, who were leaving rooms, entering rooms, and walking through the hall. Ed was almost as awed as he was when he saw the amount of people in Central; but he wasn't awed so much as to not notice his roommate being shoved around 'accidentally' by other students. Before saying anything, he decided to watch and see what Naruto's reaction was; he completely ignored it, as if he was used to the treatment.

"Hey, Naruto, are you alright?" asked Ed. Naruto just flashed him one of his 'larger than life' smiles.

"Yeah, everything's fi…oomph!" exclaimed Naruto. While he was answering, someone had 'accidentally' shoved him hard enough to fall flat on his face, and then 'accidentally' stepped on his arm while passing by, while muttering a whoops under his breath. Naruto then cradled his sore arm in agony and tried to get back up, only to be shoved back down every time. To say that Ed was pissed was an understatement.

"Hey, you; kid with the fan on his shirt! Who the hell do you think you are?" exclaimed Ed, which immediately gained the attention of every kid around his age to stop walking and turn around to see what would occur.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke, and I'm the top ninja in my class. Now I suggest you stay quiet unless you want to be beaten up, badly," condescendingly sneered the boy with the spiky black hair, his onyx eyes boring into Ed's amber ones.

_'Arrgh! He's just like that bastard who called me a shrimp! I wouldn't be surprised if the two were related; the vague bastard and the pompous jerk.' _After Uchiha Sasuke's statement, Ed decided that the "pompous jerk" needed to be set in his class, and ran over and tried punching Sasuke in the face, but his punch was avoided by the boy who quickly countered with an uppercut to Ed's stomach, which connected, seemingly leaving Ed with no breath. Thinking that he had put his opponent in his place, Sasuke turned around and walked away, only to find the ground leave his feet. He fell like cement in water, landing on his face. He turned around only to find Ed finish executing a sweep kick.

"You say that you're the best ninja of your class but you got hit by a simple sweep kick? Ha! You better start practicing if you even want to get almost as half as strong as I am!" boasted Ed. _'A little harsh, I know, but he deserves it. No one picks on **my** friends and gets away with it empty handed.'_

This seemed to drive the boy into a frenzied state. He started wildly attacking Ed, throwing out flurries of punches, kicks, and other staccato strikes, while Ed simply blocked them, and attempted to land in a few hits himself, only to find them all blocked by the Uchiha.

_'I must be getting rusty; I can't believe my power is equivalent to that of a seven year old! I need to train more often.'_ The fight continued for several more minutes before the two were stopped by a teacher. He was wearing customary chuunin garb and had long black hair in a ponytail with blue eyes behind round spectacles.

"That's enough! There will be no fighting in this school as long as I am a teacher here! You, you, and you; report to my office immediately," the teacher commanded. He pointed at Ed, then at Sasuke, and then his finger fell on Naruto. He then turned on a dime and walked off towards what was presumably his room.

"Wait, why do I have to go?" shouted Naruto.

"Because I said so, now stop backtalking!" barked the teacher, not deterring from his course. Sighing, Ed and Sasuke followed the teacher; both giving each other looks that could kill, leaving behind a fuming Naruto.

"As I have stated earlier, any kind of non-sanctioned fighting during school hours is strictly forbidden. This is one of the top rules of the academy; along with not teaching anyone else outside of the village any knowledge you gain and to do any and all types of assignments given to you," reprimanded the teacher, who was currently sitting at an excellently polished wood desk. The three students were standing side by side in front of his desk, listening to the lecture given to them by the teacher. "Mr. Elric, I'm leaving you off with a warning, because this is your first day attending academy, but take note that I will **not** be so lenient next time. Mr. Uchiha, your father would be ashamed that you of all people would break one of the academy's most important rules." At this Sasuke lowered his gaze to the ground. "You will be staying after today and tomorrow to help reorganize the school's textbooks and help polish the school's armory."

_'Not too bad. I could be clapping erasers, scraping gum off desks, or some other menial chore.'_ thought Sasuke, albeit still ashamed that he had dishonored his family because some **_dobe_** got him angry.

"Mr. Uzumaki, since my sources inform me that you had instigated this fight, you will be clapping erasers, scraping gum off the bottoms of desks, and sweeping the classrooms after school for the rest of this week."

"I didn't do anything though!" protested Naruto, rather loudly.

"What did I say about backtalking Uzumaki? Now shut up and get to class; all three of you, now!" barked the teacher, slamming his fist on the desk, causing it to slightly splinter. "And for causing me to break my desk, you can pay for it to be repaired too."

_'That…that…bastard! Naruto did absolutely nothing wrong; why should he have to do all of that crap when Uchiha has to spend two days just polishing weapons and organizing books? This guy should consider himself lucky that for one, I'm a seven year old brat, and for two, that I'm his student.'_ Ed somehow managed to keep his almost uncontrollable rage inside his head. The three then filed out of the room and left sullenly to their classes.

"Naruto, I'm, sorry. I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess," apologized Ed, hanging his head in shame.

"It's alright, it's not like it's any kind of hard labor," laughed off Naruto, flashing one of his humungous grins.

_'That's starting to really bug me,'_ thought Ed.

"Don't apologize to the dobe, he deserves every punishment he gets. Only the perfect ninja will ever get anywhere in life, and by how he acts, he should just quit now and save himself, his classmates, and his teachers the trouble that he causes," snidely insulted Sasuke, smirking.

"Shut up Sasuke-teme! I'm gonna be Hokage, believe it!" shouted Naruto confidently, and loudly.

"Quiet baka, do you want to get caught by a teacher or Hokage-sama for not being in class yet?" hissed Sasuke.

"Yes, that wouldn't be very good, now would it?" queried a voice. All three boys tensed at hearing the Hokage behind them. "Now what would you be doing out of class at this late time?"

"We were just reporting from Kuma-sensei, Hokage-sama," answered Sasuke, turning around and bowing before responding.

"Yeah, and I have to do stupid cleaning work," grumbled the blond student, crossing his arms in a pout.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad Naruto. Now Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, both of you report to your classes. Edward-kun, follow me please," (1) requested the Hokage, which was more of a command then an offer. Edward followed the old man to a large office near the very top of the building that had an intricately carved cherry wood door. Sarutobi opened the door and motioned for Ed to follow him. Sarutobi then sat down into a large chair behind an oak desk and motioned Ed to have a seat in one of the stools in front of the desk.

"As you know, Edward-kun, you are not a native to Konohagakure no Sato, and therefore you pose a potential threat to the safety of this village; do you understand that?" asked Sarutobi. Ed just nodded his head in reply. "Good; now because of the possibility of a security threat, certain…restrictions must be set. First of all, you will not be allowed to enter the library of Konoha unless accompanied by either a chuunin, jounin, or ANBU. You may also not enter Hokage tower or any of the town's armories without escort. Third, I am here on Monday every week to take care of paperwork and check up on the advancements of the students for three to five hours. You are to report to me every week and we will review your progress and behavioral patterns. Once I have found that you are no longer a threat, all bans will be lifted; is that understood?"

"Yes Hokage…sama," answered Ed.

"I'm glad that we are on equal terms then Edward-kun. Kamuro-san will escort you to your class," informed Sarutobi. "You are dismissed." He then started reading over a pile of paperwork on his desk. Ed sat on his stool dumbly for a minute before he finally processed that he was dismissed. He left the room and was immediately met by another ninja; this one clothed completely in black cloth; which completely baffled Ed; nowhere in the book given to him was a description for a ninja rank that wore completely black, that is, except for select ANBU members…

"Kamuro-san, are you an ANBU?" asked Ed with an 'I'm a child so I want to know everything' tone.

"That is none of your concern Edward-san, now if you follow me, I'll lead you to your class," monotonously notified Kamuro, who then starting walking down the staircase that Ed had previously climbed. He wordlessly followed the black-clad shinobi down the seemingly never ending staircase; all that could be heard was the sound of sandals and sneakers pounding against wood.

_'This man, he's not normal; I can feel it in my gut. Those eyes of his…they're surreal, like he can see in to my very soul,'_ thought Edward, who had to run down the stairs to barely keep up with the man currently striding down the staircase. After exiting the staircase, the two immediately stopped and Kamuro opened the door closest to the stairs. Ed peered into the room and scanned the occupants' faces for Naruto; he was not there. Instead there were thirty or so students sitting in tables of two staring wide-eyed at the black clad ninja, Kamuro.

"Iruka-san, this is your new student; Elric Edward-san. Here is his information," monotonously introduced Kamuro. While introducing Ed, he produced a scroll from within a pocket in the black vest he was wearing and tossed it apathetically to Iruka, who deftly caught it in mid-air and read its contents.

"Arigato Kazuki-san," murmured Iruka. Kamuro then turned his gaze toward Ed one more time, causing him to visibly shiver, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Elric Edward-eh? Well, let's see, there's an empty seat up there next to Haruno, Sakura, there's one over there near Akimichi, Chouji, and there's one right up front next to Inuzuka, Kiba…are you trying to cut class while I'm occupied with another student?" inquired Iruka to a seven year old boy who was currently trying to sneak out of the classroom door; rather stupidly too because of the fact that Iruka was making eye contact with Ed, who was standing right in front of the door.

"Yeah, catch me if you can!" shouted the boy, laughing with each word. He then made a full sprint towards the door and pushed the shorter student out of his way, along with telling him to "get out of my way, shrimp."

Ed did what he naturally did in these types of situations; he claimed vengeance. With a vice-like grip, he grabbed onto the hood of Kiba's gray hoodie and yanked, hard; hard enough to choke him and for the boy to fall down back into the room.

"Do…not…call…me...short," menacingly threatened Ed through clenched teeth.

_'Great, another insane student for me to deal with; why couldn't I have students like the prodigies Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke, at least then I'd have at least **some** pride in my teaching,'_ mentally sighed Iruka. "So, Edward-kun, have you chosen a seat or will I have to choose for you?" asked Iruka to the fuming boy.

Ed snapped back to the present problem. He had never been taught like this, but he knew that he could reach his full potential only in the correct environment. He glanced at the three spots that were open; the one next to Chouji, a chubby boy crunching rather loudly on potato chips. _'No, he chews too loud and I wouldn't exactly want crumbs all over my notes.' _He then glanced to the seat next to the one recently vacated by Kiba. _'No,'_ thought Ed. Right then, that was all of the logic he needed against the Inuzuka. He then observed the seat next to the girl Sakura, she had long pink hair with bangs reaching to her eyes with downcast eyes. _'I guess that's the best choice; she's not talking, she's not eating, and it doesn't look like she'll be a nuisance.'_

"Next to Sakura-san, please," requested Ed, looking directly into Iruka's eyes.

"Go ahead," sighed Iruka, who then made the proper adjustments to his seating chart. Ed walked past two isles of tables before he reached his seat.

"Hi," greeted Ed, smiling softly. Sakura didn't even acknowledge the fact that the seat next to her was occupied.

_'Great, a snot nosed brat who thinks their better than everyone else, what fun,'_ sarcastically thought Ed. Before starting to talk, Iruka dragged the Inuzuka boy up to his feet and motioned for him to return to his seat, and Kiba, although begrudgingly, obliged and sank down into his seat.

"Okay, for today's lesson we will learn about the Great Ninja Wars," started lecturing Iruka.

And so, for better or for worse, Ed's first day of school started.

* * *

I can't believe that I've reached 60 reviews...I'm literally overjoyed. Expect a nice little Naruto POV or an Itachi POV next chapter. Which one...it's a secret, it's so secret that I don't even know it.


	13. Log 1: Resembool

Hello. I'm back with ch. 11! I decided to go with a Naruto half-chapter and a Mallor-half chapter. Mwahahaha! The secret's out! Once again, thanks for reviewing and for taking the time to read this story. Sorry it took a while to update, needed to study for finals. The first part of chapter takes place a hour previous to last chapter.

Catwarrior: In the anime and manga, Naruto was held back several years, so I decided to place him in a class a year above Ed; with the eight year olds, including our favorite (well, my favorite) Hyuuga, Tenten, and Lee.

Yay for 5000th hit! You guys are awesome!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or FMA

* * *

**Ch. 12: Log 1 (Naruto)/ Resembool(Mallory)**

"Once upon a time ago, I was loved, I just know I was; I just can't remember when that time was. I also know that I have parents, somewhere; I just don't know who they are or where they are. The other day, I heard a song playing on a radio that was the soundtrack to my life; I can remember the words perfectly;

"Well if you wanted honesty, That's all you had to say. I never want to let you down or have you go, it's better off this way. For all the dirty looks, For photographs your boyfriend took, Remember when you broke your foot from jumping out the second floor?  
I'm not okay. I'm not okay. I'm not okay."

As I look in this mirror I don't see Uzumaki Naruto, hyperactive child attending Ninja Academy to become Hokage…

"You wear me out. What will it take to show you that it's not the life it seems?  
(I'm not okay)  
I told you time and time again you sing the words but still don't know what it means To be a joke and look  
Another line without a hook I held you close as we both shook for the last time Take a good hard look!  
I'm not okay.  
I'm not okay.  
I'm not okay.  
You wear me out."

I see Uzumaki Naruto, demon child scorned and hated by all. This Naruto is never happy and acts like an idiot to try and make friends; he's failed so far.

"Forget about the dirty looks The photographs your boyfriend took You say you read me like a book, but the pages all are torn and frayed  
I'm okay.  
I'm okay!  
I'm okay, now  
(I'm okay, now)  
But you really need to listen to me Because I'm telling you the truth I mean this, I'm okay!"

People think that they know everything about me, but they're wrong. They think that I'm a demon, that I'm stupid, and that I'm a miscreant; they're all wrong. I am a student of the ninja, and I'm going to become Hokage, whether they like it or not.

"(Trust me.)  
I'm not okay  
I'm not okay  
Well, I'm not okay  
I'm not o-fucking-kay  
I'm not okay  
I'm not okay  
(Okay)"

Yes, I'm actually singing these words as I write down these thoughts. So far in my life, there are only three people who have ever even attempted to look beneath the mask that I wear; Hokage-sama, Ryuichi-san, and Elric-san. Even throughout all of these distorted reflections in my life; one thing is absolute; I will protect these important people no matter the cause, even if it's death. Sorry journal, but I need to stop writing now; I need to go get changed so that I'm not **that** late to school, and also it's Elric-san's first day, so I need to show him where the academy is. I wonder if he'll be as good as I am? Oh crap, the ramen's burning now I **really** have to stop writing."

Naruto ran into the kitchen to turn off the boiler to find that it was already turned off; and that the ramen was gone. What he did see was Ed sitting at Naruto's moderately small table eating a bowl of instant ramen; miso ramen, the kind that Naruto was cooking before he left to go write.

"What are doing?" exasperatedly asked Naruto.

"Eating," replied Ed, mouth filled with noodles.

"But you're eating the ramen that I was cooking!" moaned Naruto. "Now I have to wait even **more **time to enjoy my breakfast of rameny goodness!" lamented Naruto rather emotionally.

"Naruto, look at your spot at the table," blatantly said Ed, swallowing the noodles that were in his mouth. His eyes traveled over to where he customarily sat; and they landed on a bowl of instant ramen!

"Thank you so much Elric!" sobbed Naruto out of happiness.

"Cut the sound effects and over dramatics Naruto, you're giving me a headache," requested Ed, closing his eyes for five seconds. When he opened them Naruto was nowhere to be seen and the bowl of ramen was empty. "What…the hell?" asked Ed, awed at how fast Naruto devoured the ramen.

Naruto had almost literally inhaled his ramen and rushed back into his room to change; seeing that his roommate was already ready to go. He quickly made his bed, placed his nightcap on the pillow, and changed into the only spare clothing he had. His favorite green jumpsuit had been completely torn apart from yesterday; when several chuunin beat him to near death before someone chased them off, who, Naruto did not know.

_'I need to go buy another, but I need to wait until I get hired for an oddjob, and the last time I've been hired was a month ago, and that was to paint an entire house for only ten ryo. Maybe I could ask Ed to borrow some of his…' _thought Naruto. Before he bounded out of his room, he hid his journal in his special spot, a trick safe hidden beneath his dresser; it looked like regular floorboards, but when knocked upon in quick succession in a precise pattern, the boards popped up. He slowly gazed upon his hoard; a ring that the Hokage had given him for his sixth birthday, a faded picture of the Yondaime, his idol, and another photograph, but of a woman in her twenties; the Hokage had given this to him and told him it was his mother when she was younger. Naruto gently placed the tattered journal and bitten, dull tipped pencil back in its place of residence and resealed the spot. He then bounded out of his room to meet a scowling Edward.

"It's about time Uzumaki, and what's up with the clothes; they're not as annoying as usual?" teased Ed. He thought he saw a faint glimmer of sadness in his eyes, but it was immediately replaced with the usual mischievousness as usual.

"I decided to change my style," grinned Naruto.

The two then walked out of the door and to academy.

* * *

Mallory felt her grip instinctively tighten as she caught hold of something. Her senses couldn't pick up what that something was due to the fright of almost being killed. Her hearing picked up some garbled sound that sounded somewhat similar to speech and felt something else grabbing back at her. Mallory became terrified at the notion of rocks grabbing back at her, so she opened her eyes.

Instantly her eyes became filled with the auras of every single object around her. She could make out the water, herself, the rocks, and what was grabbing her. The thing had an aura of a bright aquamrine hue. Mallory tried to gasp, but she inhaled frigid rushing water instead of air.

Over the years of using her special eyesight, she had discovered a classification system of auras; inanimate objects had a hue of a dull grey or black, plants had either light gray, brown, or dark hues, simple-minded animals had auras of slightly dark to slightly light colors, depending on their intelligences, and humans all had bright hues. She knew that each color meant a different human emotion, but she wasn't able to classify those.

She started to feel faint; she had inhaled too much water, had almost no physical strength left, and most of the remainder of that strength was being drained by her sight, which she dubbed as her "aura awakening." Before she lost consciousness, however, one thought pulsed through her mind;

_'Brother, I'm sorry; I failed you.'

* * *

_

She was awakened by a loud whining sound. Mallory bolted up, immediately using her enhanced senses to pick up what exactly was near her. She felt a springy mattress beneath her, a warm, fuzzy comforter over her, and she heard the whines; the whines of baby, which were quickly replaced by that of a faint suckling sound.

"Shh, don't cry," whispered a voice. It was gentle and comforting, like a mother's voice. "I'm sorry, did he wake you?" She asked, her voice like a gentle caress on her confused mind.

"No, I woke by myself," replied Mallory softly.

"I hope you're alright; Winry found you drowning in the river, she said that you had a fever and that you should rest for awhile," sweetly informed the girl, implying that she needed rest.

Mallory picked up the creak of a door being opened and floorboards creaking under a weight, most likely that of a petite human.

"So she's up?" asked the newcomer, with a tone not as gentle as the first one.

"Yes, she just awoke," replied the mother. The suckling of the baby then gradually began to slow down. More floorboards creaked as the newcomer walked over to where Mallory was and sat down on the mattress, causing Mallory to rise slightly and then fall.

"I am Winry, and that's Rose and her infant child, Jalill. Welcome to Resembool."

* * *

Wow, the last part was hard to write; it's hard to write setting without using actual sight. And also what do you think of the logs (Naruto POV)? If you like them, they'll pop up from time to time; if not then there probably won't be another one. Please R&R and thank you for reading this hchapter! 


	14. Meet Your New Senseis!:Dirty Soul

YOSH! I AM THE SCRABBLE GOD! Well, actually, I'm the scrabble champ of my middle school! I beat a teacher who's NEVER been beat before and the two students voted most likely to succeed (I showed them and their cocky ways). Happy Summer Break everyone! Also, I was in the top 2 of my class and was nominated for most outstanding student! I didn't win, but my best friend did and I feel happy for her.

P.S. Sorry for the late update, but this week and last were finals weeks. Also, in some odd coincidence, I'm actually going to have more work next week than during this week. I'm working at the church from 8:30-11:30, then Red Cross Training from 12:00-3:30, then I'm helping a little kid with baseball from 4:00-5:30, so don't expect another update for one to three weeks.

P.P.S. Back in actual chapter 8, (would appear on fanfiction as chapter 9, I said that "next chapter" AlxOC would come into play. Well, I lied. The next chapter with Alpohonse in it (**probably** the next one) will contain this pairing; this one sets that chapter up.

P.P.P.S. Did you realize that for every note after P.S. you add another P?

Nilk: That's good, I think.

Master Sanosa: About Andrew…yeah, he won't appear again for a chapter, or four. Until then, enjoy the Elric brothers: )

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fullmetal Alchemist; however I do own an iPod with Naruto and Fullmetal Alchemist songs on it.

Also, last chapter was chapter eleven, not twelve; sorry!

* * *

**Chapter 12: Meet Your New Senseis! (Ed)/Dirty Soul(Al)**

For the last hour and a half, the class was divided into three factions: the asleep, the bored but not yet asleep, and the attentive. Ed and Sakura were in the exceedingly smaller third faction, both taking appropriate notes. Ed was doing so just because he wanted to get as much knowledge of this city's customs as he could, while Sakura was literally engulfed in the lesson, as if she enjoyed hearing Iruka drone on and on about the Great Ninja Wars. Finally, as Ed felt his own eyes starting to droop, Iruka concluded his lecture and assigned the homework for that night much to the dismay of the class; to indicate the countries involved, the daimyos ruling at the time, and three important war figures from each country for each of the three great wars. He then left the room, prompting much confusion from Ed. He decided that even though the girl he sat next to, to put it nicely, had a stick up her ass, she would probably know what was going on.

"Hey, do you know what's going on here?" asked Ed; Sakura gave no response. "Hey, did you hear me Haruno?"

"You're not going to get an answer from _Forehead Girl._ Her forehead's too big for her head, she has no mouth; isn't that right _Forehead Girl?_" jeered the student right behind her. Sakura's only reaction was to hide her head even further into her textbook.

"Where the hell do you get off calling her that? Do you even know how much pain you're causing her when you call her that? Do you?" demanded Ed angrily. Since he himself was often mocked for his physical appearance, he could relate quite well to the girl. This also brought him to a realization; that Sakura was not stuck up, but was just introverted and wary of her peers.

"Aww, someone has a crush on Forehead Girl. How cute; Forehead Girl and Elric-bozu; you two should get married," sneered the boy.

"You bastard!" shouted Ed. He then jumped out of his seat and prepared to lunge at the offender, who also jumped out of his seat. However, neither of the two made a move; they both found they were unable to move. Ed found himself being compelled to fall face first onto the ground, as did his soon-to-be enemy.

"Fuiton: Attou Juuryoku no Jutsu (Wind style: Technique of the Overwhelming Gravity)," cheerily announced a feminine voice. "A low level genjutsu that tricks the mind in believing that the force of gravity is dramatically increased. It can easily be countered by either of the two most common methods; by disrupting your own chakra system, effectively dispelling the genjutsu from the inside out, or by releasing irregular bursts of chakra, effectively disrupting the illusion, of course, the first is far more simpler to do but requires excellent chakra control. And for future reference, I don't sponsor unmonitored matches, especially between two gaki underclassmen," explained the woman, clearly giving a "read between the lines" threat along with it.

"Now have both of you learned your lessons or will I have to let you two break the jutsu yourselves?" asked the woman.

"Yes sensei," muttered the bully reluctantly.

"Yes," growled out Ed.

"Kai (dispel)," muttered the woman, forming her hands in a seal. Instantly both boys felt a heaviness being lifted from both of their bodies. They both shakily got up from the hard wood floor and both turned to face their supposed sensei. She had medium length black hair and almost glowing crimson eyes and was wearing a white dress seemingly made of bandages with a red left sleeve and a fishnet undershirt. She also wore bandages around her forearm and wore blue shoes. Her eyes widened and then narrowed as she recognized the relatively unknown face of Ed.

"So you are the new student, Elric Edward?" asking the crimson eyed woman.

"Yes, I am," confirmed Ed, making sure to put some space between his sensei and himself.

"Nice to meet you, Edward-kun. I am your sensei for genjutsu; Yuuhi Kurenai," introduced the woman.

She then pointed to a man with perfectly groomed platinum blonde hair falling down to his shoulders on the sides and in the back, while he combed back his bangs. He wore a red robe that went down to his waist, blue armguards, a beige kunai pouch, the usual chuunin vest, black tabi, his black hitai-ate on his forehead, and dark yellow straw sandals and was leaning against the door. His face possessed almost feminine features and possessed brilliantly glowing green eyes. "That is your sensei for ninjutsu; Seitsano Soren," further informed Kurenai.

She then pointed to a woman with long turquoise hair held in a high ponytail. She wore a gray circlet on her forehead, a short green robe with a short brown camouflage shirt over it, her hitai-ate on her left bicep, two red armguards with talons on the left one, a necklace with a dark green chain and a red pendant that fell perfectly above her chest, a beige kunai pouch on her waist, pants with a circular weight above the right knee, black tabi, and dark yellow sandals. Her light brown eyes seemed to possess a certain sadness to them as she sat on top of the desk that Iruka had used for his books. "That is your sensei for taijutsu; Nagiatta Shiina," notified Kurenai.

"As you have noticed, there are three, not one teachers for these classes. Over the years we have developed a system of dividing students into groups to decrease the student-to-teacher proportion; therefore you will be paired with one of the already established groups and will be learning the three jutsu styles with them for the remainder of the year," explained Kurenai. She then walked into the front of the room and stood of the front of the blackboard. Soon after the other two teachers followed suit.

"Alright kiddies; follow us outside!" grinned Shiina, energetically leading the class outside. The class followed, groaning, which puzzled Ed greatly.

'_She doesn't **seem** that bad…Although Kurenai-sensei might be,'_ thought Ed. The rather downtrodden class was lead to a rather large clearing that was mottled with training posts where there were other children training with their senseis also.

"Alright, split up into your groups," commanded Kurenai, but in a gentle tone. Ed watched as the student body of his class separated into three equal groups, leaving him alone. "Okay, Edward-kun, you can be in…"

"My group!" interjected Shiina. "He'll be in my group first!" loudly proclaimed the chuunin.

"Fine with me," shrugged Kurenai.

"Alright group, follow me!" boisterously dictated Shiina. She then led them to a rather large section of the clearing where there was evidence of shrubs and bushes. "Now each of you pair up and start sparring!" cheerfully exclaimed the teacher. "However, there is to be no utilization of any kind of jutsu other than tai, if you use ninjutsu, doujutsu, genjutsu, hijutsu, and you end up hurting your partner I'll make sure you will be expelled," warned Shiina, uncharacteristically grave.

"Hai Shiina-sensei!" the seven year olds echoed. They then eagerly paired up with one another to begin sparring. Ed and the boy from before attracted each other like magnets. However, once again their battle was stopped, but this time it was by the taciturn pink headed girl.

"I hope you don't mind, but I would rather like kicking this guy's butt by myself," quietly interrupted Sakura, her eyes facing the ground. However, she then rather quickly brought her head up as if in pain, and brought her eyes up to face Ed's, and within those eyes, Ed saw a newly sparked determination.

"Alright…Sakura-san," complied Ed. He then left the two to fight and looked around for another partner. Unfortunately, though, there were only eleven people in the group and the other ten people were already paired up and had started to spar. He decided to inform his predicament to his sensei.

'Uh…Shiina-sensei, there are eleven people in the group," complained Ed subtly.

"So?" she asked, oblivious to his problem.

"So I don't have a partner," elaborated Ed. Shiina sighed in frustration.

"Don't you kids know how to self-preserve? Oh well, I guess that because you don't have a partner I can sufficiently test your capabilities in the elements of taijutsu," sighed the chuunin. She then positioned herself into a loose fighting stance and flicked her hand towards Ed and then back towards her, as if to say 'bring it on.'

* * *

"Al, how long have we been in here?" asked Frey. There was absolutely no light in the cold, dank, and musty cell and their eyes were only just starting to adjust. 

"Six days, give or take," blatantly responded Alphonse.

"I…I don't wanna die," confessed the young boy. He had only recently began to act his age, in one of the worst scenarios possible.

"It's alright, but worrying over it will get us nowhere," Alphonse attempted to soothe. However, it seemed to have no effect on Frey, as he started to sob.

'_Shut up! Don't you realize that crying won't change a damn thing?'_ angrily thought Alphonse. However he kept this angry burst to himself so as not to further upset Frey. "Frey, no matter what happens, stay in this cell, alright?"

"Alright," complied Frey. Al then took a small knife out of his pocket and slit his left wrist and watched as the blood trickled out of the self inflicted wound. He then took his right middle and index fingers and smeared blood on them. After he did so he walked over to where the metal bars where and with the blood on his fingers he started drawing intricate patterns on the soiled stone floor.

"Al, what are you doing?" inquired Frey. To him it looked like Al was just finger painting with his own blood.

"Alchemy," answered Alphonse proudly. He then drew his hand up from the stone and slammed both of his hands onto it again in synchronization. A blinding electric blue light illuminated the room as the metal bars rusted away into nothingness. The blinding light then subsided, leaving the two prisoners subject once again to the abysmal darkness of the cell.

_'I want to learn alchemy,'_ thought Frey eagerly. _'I want to know how it works, why it works; I want to help my friends without having to risk going ballistic. I'll ask Alphonse to teach me when he gets back, I suppose.'_ He observed Alphonse as he slunk out of the now open entryway to the cell. However, Al was too preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn't notice the sound of footsteps approaching from behind him.

"Alphonse, behind you!" warned Frey rather loudly. Alphonse swerved around and swung his knife in a semicircle as he did so, effectively causing blood to spray all over his face. The person that had been sneaking up on Al dropped his flashlight as he fell onto his knees, blood spewing like a fountain out of his slit throat. Al couldn't see the corpse, but he felt the hot sticky blood on his face, his arms, and his **soul**. He dropped down into his knees, clutching the sides of his head. His eyes bulged out as he made out the very faint outline of the man. He did not even think to look at the flashlight.

"Al, are you alright?" asked Frey. After getting no response, he rushed over to Alphonse's side, picked up the flashlight, and then shone it on Alphonse. He saw him muttering and clutching his head and he remembered the pain of a first kill; the soiled feeling on your soul. He then shone the light on the corpse but didn't even flinch; he had seen much worse than this. He then dropped the flashlight, dropped down to his own knees and hugged the older boy tightly, trying to hold together a jigsaw puzzle that was slowly falling apart.

They both thought that the horror was over; they were wrong.

Footsteps echoed off of the stairwell as someone slowly descended. Frey hurriedly got onto his feet and went into Stage 1, as he liked to call it. His swords then penetrated the epidermis of his forearms and he brought them into a guard position to await their new arrival. The person slowly descended onto the stone floor and the audible sound of a switch being turned was heard. Instantly several lights illuminated the entire establishment, revealing a lean girl of around five foot six with braided blond hair and pastel blue eyes. She wore a uniform of the military and looked none too happy with what she saw. She also had a revolver in her hand, cocked.

"Move aside," commanded the girl, pointing the gun at Frey's head with the experience of years evident in her grip and her glowing orbs.

* * *

Once again, sorry for the late update. Please R&R. 


	15. Underestimation Yesterday's Feelings

Disclaimer: Don't own either Naruto or FMA.

My usual a/n is at the bottom of the chapter.

**Chapter 13: Underestimation /Yesterday's Feelings **

"Wait, test my capabilities in the elements of taijutsu?" questioned Ed, more out of a need to be reassured than to acquire an actual meaning. However, Shiina took the question as the latter explanation, and sighed disappointedly.

"Gee you're stupid. It means to get up off your ass and fight me!" snapped the chuunin impatiently as she settled into her own unique fighting stance. She was incredibly proud of her innovativeness when she first created the style and to this day the only person who has been able to beat her style was Maito Gai, her former sensei.

Ed just shrugged it off and slipped into his own fighting stance. The two waited in silence for several seconds that held an infinity's worth of time within them before Ed struck with a simple right hook to her left temple. Shiina merely waved it off with a flick of her arm and used the same hand to block the knee strike to her abdomen.

_'And Hokgae-sama thinks he special? He's only average at best,' _scoffed Shiina. She then blocked a roundhouse kick aimed at her neck and countered with a sweep kick, sending him to the ground. _'Something's not right,' _she realized as he didn't get up. She bent down to check and see if she attacked a tad too hard and broke some of his bones. As she bent down, she felt hard make contact with her chin, sending her flying backwards; Ed's sneaker to be exact.

"Underestimating me will prove to have a very dangerous outcome Shiina-sensei," coldly threatened Ed as he jumped onto his feet. "You haven't been putting any force behind your guards, making it harder for me to lose my equilibrium," corrected Ed as he rushed Shiina, but was easily deflected, noticeably with more force, enough force to cause him to unbalance, causing Shiina to gain an attack opening, which she took by using the bare minimum of her strength to kick his exposed abdomen, causing him to lose his breath.

"And allow me to give you some advice gaki," spat Shiina. "Underestimating your senseis is even more dangerous, fatal more likely, especially since you're **seven**. And also, it is certainly not wise to correct your opponent at any time, seeing that they may actually take your advice and then is able to beat you to a bloody pulp," reprimanded the chuunin as she rubbed her chin. "And I also advise you to refrain from using dishonorable tricks such as that, for in a real battle, an opponent will not stoop over you to see if you're dead, they'll completely decimate it to make sure that you don't come back."

And so round two of the fight began with Shiina losing her cheerful demeanor and Ed staring almost hatefully at his sensei. After several seconds of trying to predict each other's moves, Edward once again charged Shiina and attempted to uppercut her in the solar plexus. However, Shiina had other plans as she intercepted his uppercut and twisted it inwards in a submission move, but was met by a counterattack in the form of a jumping roundhouse kick, which she ducked, and bringing Ed down to the ground, successfully adding momentum to the axe kick that followed the roundhouse kick. In order to avoid it, she had to use her free hand to guard the attack, not overlooking the fact that she was basically open to any attack he threw at her. Ed also didn't fail to notice as he aimed a left hook towards her face. However, Shiina always kept some kind of ace up her sleeve; it was one of the reasons her _sobakasu_ style of fighting was almost invincible. She then preformed a trademark technique of her style; ducking her head down, causing her ponytail fly straight up and guard against the punch, surprisingly holding. While Ed was temporarily stunned by her guard, she executed a sweepkick while deflecting his axe kick and his original attack off to the side, causing him to fall painfully onto the ground.

"I've seen enough Ed-bozu, take a break," announced Shiina as she saw him get back up onto his feet, albeit shakily after being struck with fifteen percent of her strength. At this remark he seemed relieved, until it was quickly overshadowed by anger.

"Hey! Don't call me squirt!" yelled Ed. Shiina just laughed at his childish display as she regained her cheerful demeanor. She then yelled for everyone to stop sparring and take a quick break before starting again, but with a different partner. She then walked over to a stump and sat down at it as she cast her eyes skyward towards the burning sun as one thought dominated all others in her mind;

_'How the hell can a seven year old actually put up a fight against fifteen percent of my strength?'_ As she pondered these thoughts, she was approached by a girl from behind none too quietly.

"Sakura-bozu, correct?" inquired Shiina without turning around.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Sakura asked, astounded by her sensei's knowledge.

"Your chakra signature," boredly answered Shiina. She then swerved around on her weathered stump one hundred and eighty degrees to meet her pupil in the eyes. "So what's up?"

"Shiina-sensei, can you, tutor me in my taijutsu please? It's not very good and I have horrible stance," dejectedly asked Sakura, blushing out of embarrassment.

"How badly did you lose to Ryu-bosu?" asked Shiina, expecting to hear some sob-filled ballad on how her ass was whooped by the stronger, aggressive boy.

"I…didn't lose," whispered Sakura. This immediately brought Shiina to complete and total attention.

"Say that again?" distrustingly requested the chuunin, thinking she had just heard it wrong. Sakura inhaled and exhaled as if to calm herself down.

"I said that I won against Ryu," repeated Sakura, noticeably more confidently.

'_What the hell is up with today? First I get a student who fights like a genin and then I get Sakura-bozu, who almost never participates, asking me for taijutsu assistance **after** she beats Ryu-bozu, one of the strongest taijutsu users in the class,' _thought Shiina disbelievingly.

"Hai, Sakura-bozu; I'll train you. Meet me after school at Training Ground 7 at around three-thirty," commanded Shiina.

"Hai Shiina-sensei!" happily complied Sakura as she ran off to where she had been sitting before, with Ed.

_'Oh just great; the two of them are fraternizing. By the time this year is over I'll have to deal with two seven year olds who if they teamed up on me might make me go over the fortieth percentile mark,' _thought the chuunin as she ran a hair through her turquoise colored hair. "Well, at least this will be interesting."

"Alright gakis! Get up off of your butts and start training!" she bellowed, startling most of her class out of either sleep or relaxation. As she looked at the fighting pairs she nodded approvingly at each one, they were pretty much even. Then she discovered the three way melee; Edward, Sakura, and Kiba.

"Good, I get some off time and I get to see the outcome of this interesting battle," mumbled Shiina as she watched the trio that were ten meters away from where she was sitting. "You'd love to see this Akira-nii-chan," sighed Shiina wistfully as a gentle wind picked up, gently enveloping the fallen sakura leaves in its soothing caress.

* * *

"Sakura-san, are you sure you want to go through with this?" assured Ed as the three combatants stood in an equilateral triangle on the grassy field. 

"Yeah," answered Sakura as she stood in a tekken-style stance.

**"Hell yeah! By the time I'm done with you you'll be crying to your mommies!" **boasted inner Sakura, causing Sakura to gain a small bit of confidence.

"Alright then, but don't blame me if you go home crying to your mommy!" yelled Kiba as he charged Sakura quickly, planning on overwhelming her in a flurry of punches. However, Sakura was lucky enough that he tripped on a rock that was in his way and fell flat on his face.

Now, with Kiba out of the way temporarily, Ed rushed Sakura and executed a spinning heel kick, only to feel something hard intercepting his kick; Sakura. She had crossed her arms in front of her, repelling Ed's kick and causing her to be knocked back a little. As she fought to regain her consciousness, she was knocked off her feet by a sliding kick by Kiba, who had gotten back into the brawl, who, after finishing the execution of it, threw himself into Ed, causing Ed to lose his balance and fall to the ground while Kiba was on top of him punching him furiously. Of course, being seven years old, they didn't exactly break any bones but they did leave Ed with a black eye and a much bruised face. Once Ed was able to find an opening in the larger boy's attacks, he punched him hard in the stomach several times, causing Kiba to grip his stomach in pain. While his opponent's barrage was temporarily stopped, Ed pushed him off and then jumped back onto his feet only to be met by Sakura, who was attacking using legato combinations of punches, roundhouse kicks, and sidekicks with occasionally using kneestrikes and back kicks.

At first it seemed as if Sakura was winning, hitting Ed often and blocking any counterstrikes and immediately delving back into her dance-like assault. However, the longer Sakura attacked, the more Ed seemed to block and was able to successfully counterattack. None of the three actually knew when Ed went on the offensive, but he did all the same. His unique combinations of advanced kicks, punches, kneestrikes, elbowstrikes, and holds quickly overwhelmed Sakura as she was forced to keep up a perpetual guard.

Then Kiba rejoined the fight. He attacked Ed from behind, attempting to put Ed in several submission moves, but failed as Ed improvised several of his attacks to hit a one hundred and eighty degree range, somehow keeping both of the other combatants at bay. However, it quickly became clear that he was being overwhelmed by the two. Whenever he took the extra time needed to attack both at the same time he was pummeled by the two until he put his guard back up, and when he started focusing on only one person, the other would be attacking him from behind.

As this gradually grew to the point where he couldn't land in a single blow or even block effectively, he retreated by executing an incredibly quick spin kick, leaving both Sakura and Kiba prone and then by back flipping backwards twice, distancing himself greatly from the other two.

"You know you have no chance of beating me Forehead Girl," panted Kiba as he slowly ascended onto both of his feet, sweat glistening on his face.

"My name is not Forehead Girl, it's Haruno Sakura!" shouted Sakura as she mimicked Kiba's action, her hair matted to her head.

"**By the time I'm done with you you'll be running home to Mommy crying!"**

Gaining even more confidence than before, Sakura charged Kiba, who was stunned by the usually timid and sensitive girl's uncharacteristic actions. She rammed her right shoulder into his stomach, knocking him slightly off balance, and then effectively knocking him down by ramming her right elbow into his chin followed by a kneestrike to his stomach.

Before anyone else could move, though, a swirl of leaves in between the three of them indicated the arrival of their sensei, who didn't look that pleased.

"I am very disappointed in the three of you; all of you had improper stances, acted impulsive and completely idiotic, and frankly, none of you would have even survived a real battle if you fought like that. Now unless you feel that you have any major injuries meet me at the usual training base," criticized Shiina as she once again disappeared, but this time only in a small gust of wind, leaving only the three students on the grassy field with moist soil.

Kiba got up from where he lay from Sakura's final assault and went over to shake her hand.

"I want a rematch sometime, Sakura-san," grinned Kiba as Sakura firmly shook his hand.

"That would be, nice," answered Sakura politely. _'Oh, my, god. I can't believe I'm actually **speaking **to a guy. Sure, it's Kiba, but, I mean, it's a start, right?'_

"**Damn right! You go ahead and challenge me to a rematch! I'll kick your ass all over! And you're also kinda cute." **Sakura tried to forget the last sentence that went through her inner self's mind.

"C'mon shorty, we gotta go to the training base," teased Kiba as he bared his teeth in a large grin. Ed immediately got up from his crouched position and started chasing Kiba.

"I'm not short! Now stop running so I can beat the crap out of you!" shouted Ed as he chased the faster boy towards the training base, an area surrounded by dense forests.

"Sometimes I just don't see what's so great about boys," sighed Sakura as she followed them slowly into the dense forest.

"**Well to start off, they're HOT; especially Edo-kun. He's so strong too, and nice, unless the other boys. If other boys were like him, I'd be just like those other girls and dress up and put on make-up and that crap."** Sakura agreed with her other self a small bit. She did agree with the fact that he was nicer and stronger than most other boys in her class, but she completely disagreed with the fact that he was hot. He was, well, not ugly, but she didn't think he was HOT, but she did think he was kind of cute….

'_Shut up! Stop making me think these things! Ed-san is my friend, my first friend and nothing more than that!' _mentally screeched Sakura. Soon she disappeared into the expansive forest, the only remainder of her existence in that spot was the smell of her hair; ripened strawberries mixed with cherries.

* * *

_In Shambala (FMA world)_

"No, I refuse to stand down," retorted Frey as he stood protectively in front of Alphonse, his hazel eyes looking up to defiantly glare into pastel blue ones.

"Have it your way," responded the girl uncaringly. She then shot her pistol once at the wrists of both of his arms, successfully breaking both of them, which caused him to writhe in agony as intense pain seared throughout his entire body, as if it was burning through his very being and would brand it. "I gave you a warning, but you didn't comply. Those bullets are alchemically fused diamond and molten fire; and unless treatment is given to you in the next hour, they'll permanently be broken," explained the girl emotionlessly. What she expected was for Frey to just give up and lie there, letting the pain overwhelm him, but what actually happened completely contradicted her predictions. She felt something hard rip into her skin on her arm and then before she knew it the gun was knocked out of her hands and skidded across the floor.

"I will not give in so easily. This man is my only hope to be reunited with my younger brother and sister. You can hurt me, but to kill me or this man will be impossible as long as my siblings live," growled Frey. But it was not only Frey who was growling, there was some other presence in him, a presence that awakened a sense in the girl that had been dormant for sometime.

_**Close my eyes and move to the back of my mind  
Where worries are washed out to sea  
See the changes, people's faces blurred out  
Like the sun spots or raindrops**_

_She looked in horror as they lay limply on the floor in pools of they're own freshly drawn blood as a young man stood over them, no older than fifteen. _

_"Do you see your beloved parents now sister? Do you see what has become of them because they have betrayed me and have refused me the power I so rightfully deserved?" asked the boy, an insane twinkle in his eye as he looked upon the trembling girl. "You don't want to betray me, do you sister?" _

_"No, no I would never betray you Pierre," stuttered out the girl as she was forced to watch their soulless bodies their on the floor, trying as hard as she could not to cry._

_"Then I want you to bring them back to life," commanded the older boy. _

_"But, but, that's immoral, and impossible. You can't perform human transmutation without the Philosopher's Stone," timidly retorted the girl. Pierre swiftly smacked her across the face as he grimaced at her_

_"I know that perfectly well; I'm having it transferred here from a desert town known as Leor, near the ruins of Ishbal," coldly informed her older brother. "Now go back to your room Avlin; go back to your room until I summon you." _

_The young girl quickly scurried off to her room, fearing the wrath of her insane brother. As soon as she entered the room she started to sob out of a mixture of grief and fear. She had no one to help her, and no one to save her._

_**Now all those feelings, those yesterdays feelings will all be lost in time  
but today I've wasted away for today is on my mind**_

'Was that, a memory?' mentally questioned the girl. But then she noticed something disturbing; the boy's wrists were completely healed. 'Impossible, not even the most skilled alchemists can regenerate their own cell structure that quickly.'

"Now unless you want to feel **my** wrath, leave us in peace," growled the dual-persona Frey as he started to step closer to the girl.

"I cannot do that, as state alchemist, I cannot let a wrongdoer get away from me. You will now know why I am known as the Sharpshoot Alchemist," calmly responded the woman as she slammed her hands into the ground, causing two six-shooters to appear on the ground, both of them a metallic silver color. She then picked them up in both of their hands and pointed them both at either side of his chest as Frey started to slash at her with his bone swords. She allowed both to impale her collarbone, causing a humungous flash of pain coarse throughout her body. However, she attempted to ignore it and fired all twelve rounds of her pistols, each of the bullets regular steel.

They entered and left his body, causing blood to spatter on Al, who had fallen silent as his eyes focused on the girl. However, he didn't even seem to be fazed by them as he dislodged his left sword and brought it down across her abdomen, slicing the epidermis like a knife through hot butter, as the bullet holes seemed to magically heal, not leaving even a trace of their existence.

_**Left the only worries I had in my hands  
Away from the light in my eyes  
Holding tight and try not to hide how I feel  
'Cause feelings mean nothing now**_

'_What the hell is this kid?' _She then fired her pistols again despite each being emptied. But miraculously, bullets that were red in color fired from them and lodged themselves into Frey's skin, badly burning his skin. He howled in pain as he tried to rip the bullets out of his body.

"You have no chance of beating me; I can reload my pistols alchemically by changing the particles within them into specially charged bullets. Now give up," dictated the girl. It was then that Al took his stand and stood up to face the alchemist.

_**All those feelings, those yesterdays feelings will all be lost in time  
but today I've wasted away for today is on my mind  
(yeah today is on my mind)**_

"Avlin, it's a pleasure to meet you again," solemnly greeted Al as he examined her body, looking to see just how much she had changed over the last two years.

"Who are you?" she questioned, cocking her pistols just to be safe.

"I'm Alphonse Elric; don't you remember me?" he asked, hoping for a yes.

"No, I don't," replied Avlin, her eyes scanning his entire body. _'But his face looks familiar, and his name sounds familiar.'_

_**Now I can't care to worry  
I'm feeling so lonely  
Breaking apart all this love in my heart**_

"You still can't remember anything from the accident two years ago?" asked Al as a frown was shown on his face.

"How, how do you know about that? No one else was there besides me, sister, and…" she stammered. And then it rushed back to her like a ferocious wave; her childhood, her parents, her siblings, her friends, the Elrics. She slowly sank down onto her knees as she started to sob uncontrollably as she couldn't stem the flow of long forgotten memories of yesterday that invaded her brain and remolded her entire person.

**_Close my eyes and move to the back of my mind  
Where feelings mean nothing now_**

"Al, is that, really you?" she asked in between sobs. She then felt a pair of arms encircle her frame from in front and her eyes met his caramel ones.

"Yes, it's me Avlin. But before we talk, you need to take my friend to the hospital; I can't let him die here, he has too much left to accomplish in life," whispered Al in her ear as he hugged her fiercely.

"Ye-yes, Alphonse, I will, but I need a few minutes first; to get used to this new body. All you need to do is transmutate the floor into a titanium magnet and the bullets will be removed from his body," she whispered back as she planted her lips on his, leaving them both in a euphoric state.

_**  
All those feelings, those yesterdays feelings will all be lost in time (all be lost in time)  
But today I've wasted away for today is on my mind  
for today is on my mind  
yeah today is on my mind**_

Althen ended their kiss slowly and did as Avlin instructed, and soon the intense pain that had filled Frey previously had almost all but dissipated, leaving an aching in his bones in its stead, and he welcomed it with open arms as he fell unconscious.

"Avlin! Are you down there?" called down an alto feminine voice. When no reply answered her, she ran down the steps to be met with the gory scene that was the prisons; the dead guard, the unconscious badly burned Frey, the blood spattered Alphonse, and her still bleeding sister staring up into her eyes.

"Celeste, I remember, I remember everything," she moaned, before she passed out, her deep gash bleeding heavily on the dusty prison floor.

_**Now I can't care to worry  
I'm feeling so lonely  
Breaking apart all this love in my heart

* * *

**_

Well there it was, the longest chapter of this story to date. I'm sorry for the incredibly late update, but I had writer's block, my computer crashed, I lost power while I was typing, and I had to edit this chapter a lot. I hope I didn't entirely screw this chapter up, especially with the former chapter 15 fiasco.

Please tell me if you think that the characters were too strong/weak and how I can improve them. I also apologize if I suck at writing action, but all of this was just bottled up and just came out.

On Sakura: I don't believe that Sakura was always the weak little side character she was in the beginning of the anime/manga. I believed she had a natural feel for taijutsu and just needed some kind of motivation to improve it and to have a friend to support her. I also think that if she didn't befriend Ino, she wouldn't be so boy obsessed, but of course, that's just my thinking.

On Ed: I'm sorry if he seemed a little Mary-Sueish, but let me share my personal opinion on him. On taijutsu: he's been training ever since he was little with Al, however, I don't believe he ever trained in a specific style, so he has lots of power, but loses some of it due to improper stance and such. I'd say he'd be around senior academy year to high genin rank, considering that stance and exact control is put in priority. On genjutsu: you'll have to wait for that. On ninjutsu: same.

And for the love of fanfiction, review damn it! REVIEW! Out of the 139 people who read the last chapter three people reviewed! Three! Now I know that it's not that hard just to drop a sentence or so review to help encourage my writing. Each review helps me, whether a flame, constructive critism, or a plain good job. I thank all of those who reviewed and have one question for those who haven't reviewed once; is it that hard?

Next chapter:

Either a Naruto/Andrew or an Ed/Al mix.


	16. Illusory Impressions

Sorry for the late update but I had a lot of thinking to do about this chapter (at least four drafts for the very first part and I'm still not that happy with it) and I had to contemplate the future of this fiction. I'm sorry if any of you are displeased with my current work, but I will hopefully bring my writing back up to speed and improve even more upon it.

Thank you Master Sanosa for assisting me with this chapter and future ideas for this story!

Also, please just bear with me for the first part of the chapter. I know that it's confusing at first, but hopefully it'll make more sense later on in the chapter.

Discliamer: You go ahead and tell me.

**Chapter 14: Illusory Impressions**

"If you want to keep traveling with me, you're going to have to stop that," said Alphonse as the two of them were hustled through the train station that was abuzz with noise. Al had forgotten the feeling of suffocation in a big city, and welcomed the feeling. It felt familiar, something to tie himself down to reality.

"Stop what?" asked Frey as he took a drag on his cigarette. He had never actually been in a large city, yet took to it like a fish in water. He loved being a part of the big picture, and Rush Valley was one of the biggest cities in the country.

"Smoking; it's a bad habit and it'll kill you," explained Al as he snatched the cigarette out of Frey's hands and then ground it into the dust.

"Screw you; I'll do whatever the fuck I please," snapped Frey as he crossed his arms over his chest in a pout.

"When you act like an adult, most likely you'll be punched like one," advised Al, quickly getting fed up with Frey's rebellious attitude, which had started once they had boarded the train from Mezzeret, which, over the years, had become urbanized and was now growing at an enormous rate, both economically and in size.

"Whatever," grumbled the young boy. _'I mean they're only words, what harm could words possibly do?' _The two then walked in awkward silence for several minutes, until Al stopped in front of a small bookshop, a dying breed in the primarily mechanical town.

"Hey Al, why are you going to shop in this shitty little store?" he questioned as he analyzed the store. It was small, the paint was flaking, one of its dirty windows was boarded up, and it just overall looked unattractive.

"Be quiet and don't touch anything while we're in here," snapped Al as his patience finally started to wear thin with his companion's sudden change of attitude. He then pulled open the wooden door, causing a loud creak to moan from its hinges like an incorporeal apparition. The two then proceeded to step in, and Frey smiled with the fact that his first impression of the place was correct.

The store contained no tables or shelves, only books. Towers and towers of books that took up the entirety of the store, leaving only one narrow pathway open from the door and it was illuminated only by several lanterns that hung from the ceiling, leaving most of the store in dimly lit shadow. The only presence in the store besides the books was one lone silhouette that was seated on the ground at the dimmest section in the establishment.

Al then strode over cautiously to the silhouette and spoke one sentence:

"I'm here on behalf of State Alchemist Redricks."

"I see, follow me sir," rasped the silhouette, its voice a deep baritone and hoarse from disuse. The cloaked silhouette then stood up and started to swiftly walk off into the piles of books. Al quickly rushed after him, not wanting to get left behind in the maze of books. Frey had not been paying attention to the two at all, but instead had become fascinated with a book labeled in a foreign language.

'_This book, it's, it's pulling at me,' _thought Frey as he reached his hand to extract the book from the pile when he felt something grasp his wrist hard.

"Keep your hands off the books shorty," snapped the person who held Frey's wrist in a vice-like grip. Frey snapped his head towards the person, ready to lash out at it, when he was taken aback by the person's appearance and couldn't help but absorb all that he could of her angelic features, that was only slightly flawed; her right cheek had a scar on it. "Why are you staring at me like that?" she demanded as she tightened her grip on his wrist, causing him to wince.

"You're…you're a girl," stammered Frey. He then tried breaking out of her hold, but found that he couldn't. _'She's strong, real strong.'_

"Yeah, so? You're a boy, and you don't see me staring at you," snapped the girl. She regretted her words once she saw how he hung his head in embarrassment at his actions, though. "Listen," she sighed. "I'm just a teenager who works here for old Mr. Hopkins and makes sure that his books are clean, accounted for, and placed in order. I also make sure that customers don't mess with the merchandise. So, just make my life easier and don't try touching the books," explained the girl as she slackened her grip on his hand.

"Why are you working here at all places? I mean, it's kind of a shitty place," asked Frey. He asked more out of boredom than out of curiosity. However, she seemed to burst with the urge to tell him as she answered his question.

"You see, where Mr. Hopkins may not own the biggest shop or the cleanest, he owns many books that are unattainable; mainly books on alchemy. Sometimes even people from Central come by, and I can't help but be amazed on how much money those guys can spend. And when people like the big spenders in Central come I end up getting tipped by them for helping them out. So you see, even though business is slow, when we get business we get a hell of a lot of money out of it," indignantly enlightened the girl as she read the title of the book Frey was going to pull out of the stack. "Why would you need a book on the history of alchemy of all things? You don't exactly look like the alchemist type,"

"You can read that?" asked Frey in astonishment, overlooking the last comment. To him, the title just looked like meaningless symbols.

"Of course I can; as a bookkeeper of such rare books, I needed to learn how to read English, French, Italian, Chinese, and Indian," answered the girl as she pulled the book from the pile and handed it to Frey.

"I can have it?" inquired Frey suspiciously, the memory of her sense of protection over the books still fresh on his mind.

"On one condition: you need to find out some information for me," answered the girl, grinning as she did so.

"What information?" asked Frey, his eyes locked on the mysteriously compelling book.

"I want to know what happened to Avlin Redricks two years ago," answered the girl as she held the book teasingly in front of his face. Once he heard her request, his face paled. He himself had only heard the barest of details and had no idea if she should be allowed to know.

"I…I don't know. Al might get pissed at me for telling you," mumbled Frey as he looked into her light blue eyes.

"Come on, how much trouble could you possibly get into?" prompted the girl.

"I guess it couldn't hurt that much," reluctantly agreed Frey. "But can we go someplace a little less, I don't know, secret?" he asked. Mr. Hopkins and Alphonse then came back into view, with Alphonse holding a parcel and the two conversing quietly in a different language.

"Meet me back here tomorrow at this time and I'll take you back to my house," said the girl as she placed the book carefully in its spot. "Don't worry, I'll bring the book with me. Oh, and by the way, I'm Carey," she introduced with a small smile.

"I'm Frey," he mumbled in response. Carey then disappeared back into the maze of book piles, leaving Frey alone with Al and the bookkeeper, who were just finishing up their conversation.

"Let's go Frey," suggested Al as he neared the younger boy. Frey just nodded and followed him out of the store, a feeling of trepidation setting itself deep inside his stomach.

"Did you get what you needed?" asked Frey as the two walked back towards the train station.

"Yeah, I have Avlin's book," answered Al as he unconsciously brought the book closer to his body. "She's been waiting for this book for two years; she ordered it right before she lost her memory," explained Al, who noticed the lack of rebelliousness in Frey's words.

"Hey, Al, what exactly happened two years ago?" asked Frey, trying to ask as casually as possible as to get the most information from Al. However, Al's demeanor visibly darkened after Frey's request.

"I have no authority to tell you," explained Al after several minutes of silence. "If you want to know, you would have to ask Avlin herself," he answered. "But I strongly recommend you don't; I don't know how distraught she might become."

Frey was deeply discouraged by Al's answer; he had hoped that discovering the information wouldn't be too painful a procedure. He felt bad enough already for putting Avlin in the hospital for the past two weeks, and sincerely didn't want to hurt her anymore.

Soon, the two reached the train station, and boarded the large, steam spewing metal monstrosity that would take that much more time away from Frey's decision making.

_---Later that Night---_

Avlin was afraid of the dark, ever since she was a little kid. However, when she was smaller she would have her parents or her older siblings to go to when she was afraid. Now, however, she had no one except for herself. Even though her sister was still alive and living with Avlin, the two lost any kind of bond they shared two years ago.

And now she was more scared than she has ever been for the past two years ago, when everything started to blur together. She had only been conscious for the better part of a day, and now that it was late, her hospital room was pitch dark, with only an open window supplying any kind of light. And to make things worse, her memories had began to fully impact her, causing her to be emotionally unstable, crying or yelling at seemingly insignificant objects, people, or events.

"At least I have my book," mumbled Avlin as she grasped the book even closer to herself, but making sure that they didn't touch the stitches that decorated her torso where she had gotten a deep scar from Frey.

She then closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but when she tried, the memories of two years ago flooded her mind: her parent's dead corpses, the rivers of blood, and of course of her deceased older brother, Pierre, who had been the catalyst for the events that had transpired. However, when she opened her eyes, he was there, standing in the doorway, half-hiding behind it, similar to when he was younger.

Needless to say, Avlin immediately started to scream and throw anything she could at him, trying to get him to leave. However, this just provoked him to walk closer, and closer, and close enough so that Avlin could see the glint of insanity and hatred in his eyes, and she took the one thing she hadn't thrown, the book that Al had retrieved for her, and she smacked him in the head with it, causing him to fall hard onto the hard tiled floor.

However, he got right back up onto his feet, and when Avlin prepared to smack him again, only to see that the intruder was not her deceased older brother Pierre, but was the boy that had put her in the hospital in the first place, Frey.

"What do you want?" she hissed indignantly. For once, she was glad for the dark, as Frey couldn't see her blushing at her foolish mistake.

"I'm…so-sorry to bother you, Ms. Redricks, but may I request something of you if it's not too much trouble?" Frey pleaded, making sure to act and look naïve and childlike.

"What is it?" Avlin snapped. She was silently trembling as her re-opened stitches began to bleed once again.

"What exactly happened two years ago?" asked Frey as innocently as he could muster without gagging.

"And why should I tell you, who caused me to end up in the hospital and decided to sneak into my room at night?" asked Avlin as her vision started to slightly blur.

Frey sighed, he really didn't want to resort to this, but…

"Because right now, I'm the only one who can stop you from bleeding in time to save your life," he answered.

Avlin cursed lightly and smiled slightly. She always liked people who were smart and knew how to work the situation to their advantages, which she could also do.

"Fine, but close your eyes when you do 'heal' me," mocked Avlin, wondering just how Frey planned on healing her. Frey then caused a small dagger to come out from his wrist and slit his other wrist. He then unbuttoned Avlin's shirt, closed his eyes, and ran his still bleeding wrist down the bleeding gash on her chest, shivering at the stark contrast between his warm, tan skin and her cold, pale flesh. Almost immediately, her gash stopped bleeding and began to close. Avlin was amazed at the miracle that she had just witnessed, no one, alchemist or doctor, could heal another person by just mixing their own blood with the wounded person's.

"How did you…?" stammered Avlin as she saw Frey smile.

"For as long as I can remember, my blood has had curative properties, and don't worry, according to my sister, I'm a blood type O, "the universal doner," explained Frey as he brought a chair over to Avlin's bed. "Now that I've fulfilled my part of the deal…" prompted Frey.

"Yes yes, I know; you want to know about the events that came to pass two years ago," Avlin wove off, knowing that it would not be easy to explain what she herself had only started to remember. _'At least I don't have to give him **all** of the details. But still, maybe it'll help to talk about it. Or maybe it'll make it worse. Aw hell! I'll just tell him what he asked for, the bare facts.' _"Alright, where to begin…" started Avlin as she closed her eyes in thought.

"Nevermind, I shouldn't be asking you this," interrupted Frey as he began to walk out of the dark room. However, Avlin's hand clasped tightly around his wrist stopped him. _'Why is it that every girl I encounter today is super strong?'_

"No, place your ass in a chair and listen. After all, I refuse to owe anything to anybody," retorted Avlin as she motioned to a chair that was placed near her hospital bed. Frey just sighed in resignation and sat down in the hard wooden chair.

"I guess the best place to begin is to give you some background on my brother. My older brother, Pierre, was a state alchemist, the first in our family, and during his journeys, he became obsessed with the forbidden arts of human transmutation. My parents, of course, didn't like that, so he disposed of them. Or rather, he had **her** dispose of them. **She** followed him around everywhere, as if she were a slave or something. Anyways, he basically took control of Mezzeret, but he did so cunningly, making sure that by the time we realized it, we were already his marionettes for him to manipulate in his sadistic and outrageous plans

At the time, my older sister, Celeste, was in Central attempting to earn her license to become a state alchemist and had no idea of what had been happening back here; she didn't even know that our parents were dead. However, even though she didn't know, Central was starting to suspect that something was amiss and sent a state alchemist in to investigate the area and make sure that everything was in order, and to dispose of any disturbances in the area. The alchemist they sent was Edward Elric, the 'Fullmetal Alchemist,' and with him came his brother, Alphonse Elric, the man that you're traveling with.

When **she** found out that Central had sent another state alchemist to investigate the area, she warned Pierre immediately, and he made sure that everything looked in order, and acted in order. When the brothers finally did arrive he succeeded in fooling them, for a while that is. After two days of staying at a local inn, they started noticing that something was amiss, whether it was the apparent melancholy atmostphere or the fact that I never spoke to them, and they began their investigation of our house.

They conducted a full sweep of the house, but, of course, **she** was expecting that and somehow managed to hide all of their experimental subjects and of course, **it**. For the first few hours, everything was going just fine, but then Alphonse accidentally stumbled upon the human subjects, and was petrified. Before he could inform his brother, though, **she **intervened and locked both of them in the room and trapped him in a fatal dance. **She **used alchemy, swords, and guns, while Alphonse only had alchemy to use. Eventually the deciding blow was dealt to **her**, which knocked her unconscious, and Al rushed out to meet his brother, who was in mortal combat with my brother. They fought evenly for a while, but slowly, Pierre gained the upper hand and forced Edward into a corner with a web of crystallized blood. In fact, his obsession with the manipulation of bodily fluids and human corpses earned him the title of the 'Carnal Alchemist.'

Anyways, Pierre didn't notice Alphonse enter the room as he was playing psychological games with Ed. After seeing his brother in such danger, he immediately jumped into the fray and most likely saved his brother's life. However, this was at the expense of my own brother's," narrated Avlin as tears started to silently flow down her cheeks. After explaining the last part she found that she couldn't talk; her mouth just refused to relay her memories.

"Wait, what kind of shit are you feeding me here? Even now Al can't deal with killing people, how could he have dealt with it two years ago? And how the hell were you involved with it?" rudely asked Frey as he absorbed the details of her story, making sure that he remembered every detail to relay to Carey.

"First of all, Al only was able to detain Pierre. They kept him in a safe room for interrogation purposes after they made sure that Mezzeret was back in order. Despite that, he died. He drew his own blood and manipulated it into a small knife, which he used to slash his jugular artery. And, even though I didn't mention myself, I was very much involved. I was **her **first test subject; she tried making me into a chimaera. She failed though, and I now have the ability to change my limbs into those of a wild dog. I also assisted Alphonse with his fight; **she** kept me locked up with the other failed experiments, without my brother's knowledge of course, and so when **she** locked Alphonse into the experimentation chamber, I assisted as much as I could. In the end, however, I could only slash her once, across the right side of her face. But it was deep enough to scar, and it felt so good seeing the frustration that was held in those eyes of ice."

'_No, this can't be happening; it can't be her. It just can't be.'_

"In fact, right after that she almost completely forgot about Alphonse and focused her attacks on me, which allowed him to knock her unconscious. Still, we never found out what happened to her; right after Edward and Alphonse 'safely' detained my brother, she disappeared without a trace. However, she took **it** with her, and so the brothers needed to depart soon if they wanted to find her. I had told them all that I knew about her and **it, **and apparently it was enough, as they left only a week later, leaving me alone to deal with Mezzeret," concluded Avlin, happy with her explanation. _'That should quench his knowledge.' _

Frey, on the other hand, was irresolute and nervous. He did not know of Carey's intentions if she acquired this knowledge, or even why she would need the knowledge.

_'After all, she was there and almost killed Avlin,' _thought Frey. He now was faced with a dilemma: to give Carey the information, get the book, and possibly endanger Avlin's wellbeing, or refuse, but miss the chance of a lifetime; the chance at owning a rare and most likely ancient text on alchemy.

He wordlessly got out of his chair and left the room, weighing both options against each other as he was enveloped by the shadows.

Avlin, on the other hand, was now sobbing at the pain of the memories of after the brothers had left her in Mezzeret.

'"_Now, the only thing left to do is to offer my own sacrifice," muttered Avlin as she kneeled over her brother's corpse. "I offer to you my happiness, my sanity, and my dreams." She then pictured three different transmutation circles in her mind, each different in design and color to signify her sacrifices. She then activated the large alchemic circle, and all that could be heard from the large house that night were Avlin's high pitched screeches and low groans coming from a deranged, inhuman monster that took the place of her brother's corpse.'_

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All right, there you go: most of what happened to the Redricks family. Of course there's more, but I'm not going to just give it **all** out yet.

Remember; reviewing is good, freeloading is bad! I'm also trying to think up a name for my muse…

Anyways, the next chapter will have Andrew in it, and Abraham Valgot will be fully revealed. Also maybe some Naruto and Itachi in it. Maybe.

And the song featured last chapter was "Yesterday's Feelings" by The Used.


	17. Body Flicker

I'm so sorry for the late update; and after the breaking of the three review chain too…I feel like such a terrible person. Life (and high school) decided to be evil and load me with homework and give me writer's block (the evil kind where you know what you want to do but don't know how to write it, really annoying, but now I'm just rambling). I'd like to thank my band teacher for inspiring this chapter (_Seven Nation Army_ has been playing in my head constantly since we're playing it at football games, and somehow it inspired me to write)! Anyways, today's my birthday…so happy birthday to me! ((I really hate homework))

WARNING!: There is a lot of violence in this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Body Flicker**

"Umm…Abraham how far away did you say that the next town was?" Andrew asked as the two of them drove in a well used, jet black car, which they had been doing for the last hour at least.

"Only a few minutes more," he said smoothly as he swerved to the left on the dusty dirt road.

_'He said that half an hour ago,' _thought Andrew suspiciously as he started to pound his foot on the bottom of the car to wake it up.

"Sorry, my foot's asleep," explained Andrew as he saw the questioning gaze of the older man.

_'And his eyes…they just look…unnatural,' _thought Andrew as he rested his head against the glass. He tried to close his eyes and get some sleep, but thoughts of his younger sister kept interrupting his mind. _'I hope you're alright…I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if you aren't,' _thought Andrew.

After for what seemed like an hour, the old automobile pulled up to a medium sized house that seemed as if it was untouched by time, with perfectly polished windows, an immaculate yard, and a completely white washed paint job that seemed to shine in the background of the setting sun.

'_This is creepy; who the hell would live in a place like this?' _thought Andrew curiously as the car suddenly stopped moving while Abraham opened the car door and got out of it.

'_You must be kidding me,' _Andrew mentally groaned.

"What a bother," Abraham muttered. "It seems as if I miscalculated the amount of time it would take us to reach the town."

'_No crap,' _sardonically thought Andrew. "Well how long is it until we actually hit the town?"

"Let me put this way; by the time you get there, you won't find lodging anywhere," explained Abraham. "If you want, however, you may stay here, with me," he added.

'_Do I have a choice?' _Andrew thought. _'No.' _"Thanks, I hope you don't mind if I do."

"Of course I don't," he answered as he shut the car door and walked around the car and up a dirt walkway that wound up towards the empty front porch of his house.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" muttered Andrew as he threw open the door and followed the man. _'If he tries to put even one of his fingers on me he's dead.'

* * *

_

(Naruto PoV)

"This sucks; I got kicked out of school yet again! And I didn't even do anything this time! It's all Sasuke-teme's fault; if he hadn't have "accidentally" spilled that paint can over then none of this would've ever have happened.

If he hadn't spilled that horrible pink paint all over me than I wouldn't have gotten angry and "accidentally" have spilled milk down his shirt…how did we even get our hands on paint cans and milk cartons anyway? I'm seriously starting to think that Kyo-sensei is out to get me.

First off, he always asks me the hardest questions; I mean how am I supposed to know the location of all thirteen vital points in the body, I'm only seven years old! Second, whenever something bad happens, I'm always there, like when the legs of that kid who sits next to me, Lee I think his name is, collapsed and I ended up paying for the chair and writing a formal letter of apology to him. I admit, I would be a likely suspect for something like that, but I mean, I'm one of the only people in the class who don't bully him just because his jutsu capabilities are even less than my own. And I can't do a jutsu for crap.

So here I am, in my apartment at three thirty in the afternoon with only you as my company. It hurts, ya know, being alone all of the time. It's alright for a while, I mean, it's kind of fun to isolate yourself at first, you get to think of new stuff to do and that kind of stuff, but then a numbing pain starts to hit you, and you truly feel alone and unloved. And now tears are starting to fall, but I'm willing them with all of my heart and soul to stop, because I know that when they start to fall, I won't be able to stop them.

I wonder how Elric's doing. Hopefully he's having a better day than I am; he has this thing about him. This thing, I don't know what exactly to call it, gives me hope that maybe I won't always be alone. It makes me think of what having an older brother or a father would be like; being supported but still having fights and stuff. I really hope that going to the Academy won't warp his mind like it did to the others…but that's just wishful thinking.

I need to stop writing though, because the door just opened, which means that he's probably home now."

Naruto frantically closed his journal and hid the book and the pencil back into his special compartment and awaited his roommate to enter his room when a thought occurred to him.

'_The Academy doesn't end for another hour,' _thought Naruto as his eyes widened. The door to his room was slowly opened to reveal a girl in her preteens holding two ninja-to smiling insanely.

"_Are you ready to play Demon? Because I've been waiting a long time to play with you,"_ asked the girl as she advanced on Naruto.

"Who are you?" boisterously asked Naruto as he jumped onto his feet, only to find that the girl was now right next to him. _'I've seen her before, I know I have,'_ he thought frantically as he whipped his head around to see what she was doing, only to feel a searing, intolerable pain shoot up from his wrist, which was quickly repeated in the other wrist. Naruto howled in pain as he tried to move his wrists, but found that they were pinned to the wall, both of them impaled with a ninja-to.

"I am revenge _Demon_; I am the one who claims vengeance on your soul," she snarled as she withdrew several kunai from her pouch.

"I am the embodiment for all that you've killed," she grunted as she stabbed him once in between two of his ribs and then left the kunai in.

"I am the grief that you've left here in the hearts of these villagers," she growled as she stuck another parallel to the first one.

"But most of all, I am a kunoichi of this village, and as so, I cannot allow any threat to go unpunished. And you, _Demon_, are the greatest threat of all," she spat as she embedded two more into each of his shoulder joints.

Naruto only gritted his teeth in response to this intense physical torture, not allowing her to have any more sadistic satisfaction as his expense.

"I'm not a demon," Naruto retorted instead, accidentally allowing several salty tears to fall from his eyes.

"You are, and demons deserve to burn in the fiery pits of Hell," she spat as she twisted the kunai that were stuck in each of his ribs, causing Naruto to clench his teeth harder as he tried moving one of his wrists, only to have a sharp sensation of pain shoot up his arm.

"Soon, _Demon_, I'll purge this world of your malevolence. But for now, I'll have my fun with you," she grinned maniacally as she began forming to form seals, the boar, which was followed by the dog, bird, monkey, and then finally sheep.

* * *

"You're more taciturn than usual, Itachi. Is there something bothering you?" the ANBU officer asked as the team of two scoured throughout the forest.

"No," answered Itachi detachedly.

"Can you describe the guy we're looking for again?" his partner asked.

"One Ashino Satoshi; B-class nuke-nin. He stands at a height of five feet six inches and he was last reported wearing long blue pants, standard ninja sandals, and bandages covering his midsection," mechanically responded Itachi, thinking of last week's encounter with his acquaintance.

"Stop," commanded Itachi as he stopped on the balls of his feet on a particularly strong branch of an oak tree. His partner did the same, albeit hastily. "Throw several kunai thirty degrees to your left," he commanded. The officer unquestioningly obeyed, and was awarded with a string of curses.

"Some shinobi he is," he scoffed as he preformed shunshin no jutsu (body flicker technique) to where he estimated the enemy to be located, which was quickly repeated by Itachi.

"_Itachi-kun; you decided to come!" squealed the woman. "I see that the rumors of what you have become are true."_

"_What are the requirements needed to join this…Akatsuki?" questioned Itachi._

"_Oh, there is only one really miniscule requirement Itachi-kun,"_

Itachi was snapped out of his memory as he unconsciously brought up a kunai to block the barrage of shuriken that was thrown at him with startling accuracy.

"He decided to bring some friends with him; Ishogawa Kira, A-rank nuke-nin, and Edonichi Saizo, B-rank nuke-nin. How long do you think it'll take us to eliminate them?" asked Itachi's partner as he severed Satoshi's arm.

"Three minutes and twenty two seconds," responded Itachi as he launched a housenka no jutsu at the nuke-nin.

"Really, I believe it'll only three minutes and twenty seconds," disputed his partner as he mimicked his partner's technique.

"You're wrong, Shisui," retorted Itachi as he threw the kunai that still remained in his hand at the ninja sneaking up behind him.

"I beg to differ Itachi," said Shisui as he preformed three shunshin in quick succession, severing Saizo's jugular vein, slashing Kira, who was occupied pulling the kunai out of his shoulder, across his Achilles' tendons, and then retreating back ten feet to prepare a jutsu.

"Katon: karyū endan (fire release: fire dragon flame missile)!" Shisui shouted as he blew out a large mass of fire in the shape of a dragon at the immobilized Kira, burning him to death. "Now for our objective," announced Shisui proudly as he turned on Satoshi, who was attempting to escape, only to find himself face to face with the Uchiha prodigy himself.

"Please, please don't kill me!" begged Satoshi as he shakily got onto his knees, looking pale from blood loss. Seconds later his head was rolling on the bloodstained earth as Itachi cleaned his blade of the man's blood.

"Three minutes and twenty seconds, it seems as if even geniuses are wrong sometimes," proudly announced Shisui as he decapitated the corpses of Kira and Saizo and placed their heads into a sack made especially for the purpose of confirming that their objective was eliminated.

"So, it's come to this, eh Itachi?" asked Shisui as he felt, rather than saw, his best friend approaching from behind him. "Before you kill me, at least inform me of why," he commanded.

"Our clan is a disease that must be eliminated Shisui; I know you are not ignorant of this fact," answered Itachi. "And I need the power that has not been seen wielded by our kin for the past several generations."

"And what of your otōto?" asked Shisui as he dropped the sack onto the ground.

"Sasuke…he has done nothing wrong, but I cannot allow him to grow up as an elitist as we have my good friend. I will spare him, if only to see him one day grow strong enough to overcome the curse of our clan," answered Itachi.

"Well, then, I'll see you in Hell Itachi," smiled Shisui sadly as he felt the butt of Itachi's ninja-to strike a nerve, sending him into unconsciousness.

"Goodbye Shisui," responded Itachi as he hoisted his soon to be deceased best friend onto his shoulder and lifted up the sack holding the severed heads. _'Now to go to the Nakano River, where you'll die a painless, unconscious death,' _thought Itachi as he walked towards Konoha where several streams met.

"_Oh, there is only one really miniscule requirement Itachi-kun; you must sever all of your ties with this village, and decimate your clan," Ai answered in a saccharine tone. _

"_I accept the requirements," answered Itachi immediately._

"_I will meet you back here in exactly two weeks time, so make sure you kill your family, or else I'll have to kill you," warned Ai in a surprisingly upbeat tone. "I'll see you in two weeks then Itachi-kun!" she said as she used a jutsu similar to shunshin to disappear from the outskirts of Konoha. _

Itachi hardly ever doubted himself, but now was one of those very rare occurrences when he did. _'Otōto…don't cower in the face of death…and then maybe I can repent for these sins that I'm about to commit with my blood on your hands.'_

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Sorry for the short chapter, but I really need to end it here.

I'll try to update again by the end of the month!

Please review!


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